Spring Colors

Happy Monday!  It looks like spring may actually be on the way.  One of March's Heart 2 Heart Challenges is to use one or more of the Pantone Spring Colors along with any neutrals.  (Pantone is a color fashion reporting site.)  According to the folks at Pantone, these are the so called hot colors for spring with suggested Close to My Heart equivalents:

I stamped the images and sentiment with pigment ink and heat embossed them with clear detail powder.  Then I used alcohol markers to color them and embellished them with some Black Adhesive Faux Pearls from Micheal's.  The layout is based on last week's Atlantic Hearts Challenge Sketch:

Thank you for stopping by!  Ubtil next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, Champagne, and White Daisy cardstock
Ink:  Poncerosa Pine and Black pigment ink, Smoothie and Juniper alcohol markers
Stamps:  Circle of Love (retired), Card Chatter - Birthday (retired)
Embellishments:  Adhesive Faux Pearls by Recollections from Micheal's

 

Lucky Heart

The design team at Heart 2 Heart Challenges is "Feeling Lucky," so  I decided to make a second card with this week's Freshly Made Sketch, this time using a four leaf clover.

I started by using one of Close to My Heart's new embossing folders to create texture for the central panel.  I had planned to use a brayer to ink the raised design in Sweet Leaf, but accidentally picked up Garden Green.   To lighten it, I went over the it again with Buttercup and found I liked the extra dimension of two colors.  Satisfied, I edged it with a bit of the lightest shade from the Brown and Tan Glitter Paper and moved on to the four leaf clover.  First I used the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut four hearts which I scored and folded down the middle.  Then I used liquid glass to glue just the fold to the background and filled the center with gold Stickles.  While I was at it, I put a dab on the center of a piece from the Skylark Assortment.  I popped up the clover panel with foam tape which meant I needed to pop up the Gold Shimmer Trim, so I did not remove the background from the trim.  You say that you can't find Gold Shimmer Trim in the back of the catalog?  That is because it came as part of the Ivy Lane Cardmaking Kit on the Go.  Here is the inside:

I used a regular hole punch to cut the gold center in the middle of this four leaf clover.  The sentiment is from the retired "For Every Occasion"  stamp set.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Flirty, White Daisy, Olive, and Sweet Leaf cardstock, Brown and Tan Glitter paper
Ink:  Black, with a Ponderosa Pine alcohol marker
Stamp:  For Every Occasion
Embellishments:  Skylark Assortment, Gold Stickles, Gold Shimmer Trim
Other:  Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, Quatrefoil embossing folder

A Freshly Made Easter Card

Here is an Easter card based on this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

I stamped the eggs with pigment ink, heat embossed them with clear detail powder, and then after cutting them out, sponged around their edges with dye ink.  I cut two strips of grass using Close to My Heart's Artiste Cricut cartridge (page 73, .75 inches), flipped one, sponged the tips with Garden Green (retired) and layered them.  It doesn't show well in the photograph that I attached a Green Epoxy Bubble to the center of the button.  The sentiment is from the Some Bunny stamp set that is available only as a hostess reward.

Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go over to Freshly Made Sketches to see more interpretations of the sketch.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Ariana, Sweet Leaf, Champagne, and White Daisy cardstock
Ink:  Blush, Crystal Blue, Garden Green (retired), and Cocoa with Blush and Crystal Blue pigment ink
Stamps:  Easter Eggs (retired), Some Bunny (hostess reward)
Embellishments:  Color-Ready Seam Binding (retired), White Glitter Button (retired), Green Epoxy Bubble, Pink Glitter Gems
Other:  Artiste Cricut cartridge

A Freshly Made Easter Basket

I so need spring!  The flowers are starting to come up, and some are even blooming, but it is still cold most days.  This is a most unusual spring, but Easter is coming and it is time to think about Easter cards.  When I saw this Freshly Made Sketch, I found myself thinking about Easter baskets.

You just can't have an Easter basket without a chocolate bunny!  I owe a tip of the Easter bonnet to Tracie Cassidy who posted this diagram on her blog, Cre8ing From the Heart.

I will be back to tell y'all more about this card including a tip on making the pretty bow, but right now motherhood calls.  That never happens to any of y'all, does it?  Until this evening, Hansi

Color My Heart in Goldrush, Ponderosa Pine and New England Ivy

This week's Color My Heart Color Dare is to use Goldrush, Ponderosa Pine and New England Ivy, and I have to admit that I totally cased this card from Fiona Whitten.  I do not have any Ponderosa Pine paper, so I made some by stamping Colonial White cardstock with Geometric Backgrounds in Ponderosa Pine followed by Universal Backgrounds in Cashmere and sponging on a little chocolate.  I used a scalloped square punch from Friskars and sponged the edges with Chocolate.

Thank you for stopping by!  Now please head on over to Color My Heart to see how others have used Goldrush, Ponderosa Pine and New England Ivy or, better yet, make something yourself and enter the challenge.   Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Florentine (retired), Flirty (retired), Colonial White and Kraft cardstock
Ink:  Ponderosa Pine, Cashmere, Chocolate
Stamps:  Geometric Backgrounds, Holiday Tags, Universal Backgrounds (retired)
Embellishments:  Durables Triangle Studs
Other:  Punch by Friskers

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

 

 

You would never know from the weather, but we are a week into March, and it is time to think about St. Patrick's Day care packages for college students.  This week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch screamed for shamrocks:

AND it just so happens that the theme of this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge is "It's a Triple Play!"  Don't you just love it when two of you favorite challenges compliment each other so perfectly?  To make the shamrocks I adapted Allisa Chilton's four leaf clover.  For each one I cut 6 hearts using Close to My Heart's Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  After sponging their edges with New England Ivy, I attached three to the card and scored the other three down the middle and folded them.  Then I curled the outer sides slightly downward and glued only the center folds to the card so that the edges could lift up like a butterfly. 

 Next it was time to make the bottom border.  I popped the Paper Lace cartridge into my Cricut, selected a Celtic sort of border, and confidently hit the "fit to length" button assuming that I would get a four inch border.  Maybe using some other cartridges I would have, but using this one the machine selected the closest corresponding height in quarter inch increments which was  .75 inches and cut a border that was way too short.  Next I turned off "fit to length" and tried setting the size to one inch which cut a border that was too long.  Feeling a bit like Goldilocks, I remembered seeing in a CTMH video (which I haven't been able to find to link to) that you could adjust the settings to centimeters and millimeters.  I could deal with the metric system if it would allow me to fine tune the length.  After calculating the size I needed in centimeters, I pressed the settings button and scrolled through to discover that not only can you set the Cricut to cut in centimeters and millimeters, you can set it to cut in tenths of an inch increments rather than the default one fourth inch increments.  Preferring to stick with the measuring system I know, I selected tenths of an inch, set the size to .90 and cut a border that was juuuuust right!

 

 

I cut the backing, attached the border, slapped on a few Green Epoxy Bubbles, and thought  I was done.  I even took the photo for this blog:

BUT, the more I looked at it, the unhappier I became.  It needed some pop.  I could stamp the sentiment in black on the front rather than inside, but then I would need to find a way to put some black somewhere else to make it balance.  I couldn't use CTMH's new Black Epoxy Bubbles because they were too big and would detract from the Celtic design.  Then I found these small black faux pearls that I had bought at Michael's which were more the size of CTMH's retired Black Opaques and would not be so in your face.  Then, for good measure, I used a narrow black marker to trace along one side of each stem.

And that, y'all, is how I ended up with the Heart 2 Heart Triple Play Atlantic Hearts Sketch card that you see at the top of this post.  I just wish I had posted this right after I finished making it Tuesday night because on Wednesday morning I saw that Christina Berger of the Atlantic Hearts design team made shamrocks like mine.  That just goes to show that great minds think alike, lol.  Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go check out the other fabulous entries at these challenges or maybe even enter yourself.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Flirty (retired), White Daisy, New England Ivy, and Sweet Leaf cardstock
Ink:  New England Ivy, Black plus a black marker
Stamp:  Holiday Tags
Embellishments:  Green Epoxy Bubbles, Black Adhesive Faux Pearls by Recollections
Other:  Art Philosophy and Paper Lace by Provocraft Cricut cartridges



Color My Heart With Sky, Sweet Leaf, and Topiary

I am so in need of spring!  Aren't we all?  This week the Color My Heart Color Dare is to use Sky, Sweet Leaf, and Topiary, a nice "springy" combination.  As I have mentioned before, I do not have any Topiary ink or cardstock.  It is the only Close to My Heart color that I do not have.  Topiary is a green that is between New England Ivy and Garden Green (retired).  After experimenting with both I decided that when sponged over Sky paper, Garden Green looks the closest to Topiary.  I used CTMH's Artiste Cricut cartridge to cut the flower in three sizes (page 73, shift + accent 1 at 3.0, 2.34, 2.5 inches).  After sponging the edges with Garden Green to give them some definition, I shaped them by wrapping the petals around the handle of my quilling tool and giving the ends an extra pinch with my fingers.  Then I stacked them with foam tape between the layers.  I cut the center out of White Daisy (page 54, accent 3, 1 inch), sponged the edges with Champagne, and added a Green Epoxy Bubble in the shade closest to Sweet Leaf.  To finish the flower, I cut leaves from Garden Green (page 54, accent 4, at .75 and 1 inch), sponged with them Sweet Leaf, and curled them with my fingers.  Here is a close up:

To make the panels I used the Tiffany Embossing folder from Cuddlebug to emboss two 4 x 5.25 inch pieces of White Daisy cardstock and then cut them.  I like that embossing folder so much that I used it on the inside as well:

Thank you for stopping by!  Now why don't you take the Color My Heart Color Dare to use Sky, Sweet Leaf and Topiary along with any neutrals to create something to share?  If you don't have those exact colors, use the closest ones you have.  I did. We would love to see your design!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Sky, Garden Green (retired), Champagne, White Daisy cardstock
Ink:  Garden Green, Sweet Leaf, Champagne
Embellishment:  Green Epoxy Bubble
Other:  Tiffany embossing folder by Cuddlebug



A Masculine and Feminine Birthday Card Using the Same Sketch

Marie Flayer, aka the New Jersey Stamping Queen, designs for Sunday Stamps, a challenge that alternates between sketch and color challenges, and this week it is her turn to create the sketch.

This is one of what I think of as "sampler" sketches that you can use to showcase several patterned papers in a pack without it being too busy and often easily use to make a masculine card.  This was exactly what I was planning to do using Close to My Heart's Pro Player pack when my husband came home from work and told me that his administrative assistant's birthday was the next day.  Did I have a card he could give her?  Now DH is very supportive of my habit hobby, so I like to keep him supplied with cards in order to keep that support.  That meant I needed to make a feminine version of this sketch using CTMH's new Balloon Ride pack:

I sponged all the edges with Saddle and used Brown and Tan Opaques (retired) to embellish.  The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch, one of those things I never knew I needed until a friend loaned it to me at a crop.  I am sure that never happens to y'all!  I used the butterfly inside as well:

With that card done, I could proceed with my original plan to make a masculine card:

I find that I am liking the new Durable Triangle Studs.  I was not so sure at first, but unlike many embellishments, these work really well on guy cards.  The sentiment is a combination of "A Little Everything" and "Say It In Style," both retired.  Here is the inside:

There you are:  two takes on one sketch.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Balloon Ride, Pro Player, Whisper, White Daisy, Colonial White, Cashmere cardstock
Ink:  Ruby, Saddle
Stamps:  Art Philosophy, Say It In Style (retired), A Little Everything (retired)
Embellishments:  Brown and Tan Opaques (retired), Durable Triangle Studs
Other:  Scallop Punch from ek Success, Butterfly Punch by Martha Stewart

Color My Heart With Skylark

This week's Color Dare showcases Close to My Heart's new Skylark paper which features Juniper, Lagoon, Sweet Leaf, and Skylark Yellow.  If you do not this paper pack you can still play by using the closest colors you have plus any neutrals.  I will have to admit that I totally cased  this card by Elisha Smith.  I think of Skylark as a feminine paper, but as you can see, it can be masculine.  Here is the inside:

Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go check out some other creations using Skylark at the Color My Heart Color Dare, or better yet, create something of your own and enter it.  You have until 9:00 p.m. central time to enter.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Skylark, Lagoon, Kraft and White Daisy cardstock
Ink:  Cocoa
Stamp:  Holiday Tags
Embellishments:  Durables Triangle Studs

Going Shabby Chic With Heart 2 Heart

This week the ladies over at Heart 2 Heart want to see some Shabby Chic, a hot trend in paper crafting and home décor.  I started with this Atlantic Hearts Sketch and the new Ivy Lane paper pack which has a feminine, distressed look about it.

After distressing the edges of the foundation layers with Cocoa and attaching them I got busy with embellishments and just layered them on.  I even layered embellishments on top of embellishments!  I used a border punch from EK Success to make some lace which I topped with some retired ribbon.  I used the frame from the recently retired Pewter Mini Medley to frame the sentiment and layered on some more ribbon and a sparkle.  I added a sparkle to the center of the purple flower from the Ivy Lane Assortment and put the Hollyhock flower from the same pack on a Filigree charm.  Of course I had to use some sparkle flourishes.  Yes, to me Shabby Chic is about lots of embellishments and layers.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Ivy Lane, Bamboo and Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Cocoa, Smokey Plum
Stamp:  Unity (retired)
Embellishments:  Pewter Mini Medley (retired), Sweet Leaf ribbon (retired), Ivy Lane Assortment, Base and Bling Floral Accent (retired), Filigree Charm (retired), Pink Glitter Gem, Clear Sparkle, Sparkle Flourishes
Other:  Punch from EK Success

In Love with Heart 2 Heart

Have you ever looked at a Cricut shape and wished you had a dimensional for it?  Well wish no more!  Caroline at Caroline's Creations regularly publishes links to tutorials, one of which was this post about a faux letterpress technique.  In it Jennifer McGuire also shared her technique for making a dimensional sentiment which I in turn used to create the sentiment for Heart 2 Heart's challenge to "Let Love Inspire You."  I used the Artbooking cartridge to cut each letter three times out of Colonial White cardstock, glued them in a stack and then topped them with the letters cut from Medium Brown glitter paper. 

For the rest of the card, I used the Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the card on page 65 twice, once at 5.50 and once at 5.0 inches.  I trimmed off the back on the smaller card to save to use as a layer on a future card, ran the front piece though my Cuddlebug with Close to My Heart's new Quatrefoil embossing folder and then layered it on to the larger card base.  I used the Artiste cartridge to cut the flowers and leaves (page 54). To give the leaves some definition and dimension,  I lightly sponged the edges with some Copper metallic ink from Color Box then curled them.  A few Brown Opaques (retired) added some pop to the flowers.  To keep the opaques from being buried too deeply, I filled the centers of the flowers with Liquid Glass, let it dry, and then attached the opaque.

For the layout I used this Freshly Made Sketch:

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Colonial White cardstock, Brown Glitter paper
Ink:  Copper by Color Box
Embellishments:  Brown Opaques (retired),  Colonial White ribbon (retired),  Quatrefoil embossing folder
Other:  Artbooking, Artiste, and Art Philosophy  Cricut cartridges