My New Lighthouse Stamp

I have a new lighthouse stamp!  Many of y'all know of my fondness for the Cape Henry lighthouse in my hometown, Virginia Beach.  There is, however, another lighthouse that has also occupied my heart for many years.  You see, my family, all of whom (except me) live within spitting distance of both ocean and bay beaches, rents a beach house in the Outer Banks near Cape Hatteras.  Yes, we invade someone else's hometown.  Cape Hatteras is the site of the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States.  In case you are thinking the the designer of this stamp took artistic license drawing the lighthouse so close to the beach, I can assure that this is where the Cape Hatteras lighthouse stood until 1999 as concern grew that the encroaching ocean would wash it away.  In a feat of modern engineering, the lighthouse was moved 2900 feet inland where it will hopefully stand for years to come.

To break in my new stamp I made a quick sympathy card following this Freshly Made Sketch:

The lighthouse stamp, by the way, is no longer manufactured but still available.  Google "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Stamp."  Caution:  Some sellers are asking a ridiculous amount for it.  I got mine for $7.00 plus shipping.   For the card I used Tommy paper (retired) and distressed the edges with Cocoa.    My only embellishment is a bird from the color ready Trinkets Wooden Shapes which I colored with two layers of Outdoor Denim and heat set each time with my craft heater.  The new micro dots came in handy for attaching him.  

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Tommy (retired), Outdoor Denim (retired) and Colonial White cardstock

Stamp: Look to the Light. 

Ink:  Outdoor Denim (retired), Cocoa 

Embellishment:  Bird from color ready Trinkets Wooden Shapes (retired but still available in the clearance section)

Freshly Made Sunrise

I have needed way too many "thinking of / praying for you" cards lately!  This time I needed one for a man.  Since lighthouses are usually a safe bet for guy cards, I broke out Close to My Heart's Seaside Greetings stamp set and, following this Freshly Made Sketch, began stamping.

I masked off the fence and water portion of the lighthouse stamp before inking it with Cocoa ink because I thought it would blend better into the dune and fence stamp.  After I stamped the images I let them sit for a long time, as in overnight, but an hour would have done it.  I wanted to make sure the ink did not bleed when I sponged over it.  I cannot tell you how I sponged the background because I just kept layering different colors until I liked how it looked.  Once I was done I added the sentiment in black.  The scalloped edge, meant to evoke waves, is pPacock and a bit of Seaside (retired) paper.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Seaside (retired), Colonial White, Desert Sand and Peacock cardstock

Ink:  Cocoa, Black, Desert Sand, Flaxen, Saffron, Sapphire, Peacock, Whisper, Smoothie, Sorbet, and Galcier

Other:  Scallop punch

My Favorite Paper Meets Atlantic Hearts Sketch 147

This Atlantic Hearts Sketch is the perfect one for Heart 2 Heart's challenge to use our favorite paper pack because it is what I call a sample sketch.  It allows you to showcase most if not all the papers in a given pack:

Before I began there were two problems I had to solve.  The first was that this mathamatically challenged art major had to figure out what size to cut the pieces.  I finally managed it, and to keep from having to figure it out again and to give y'all a head start should you want to use this sketch in the future, here is a cheat sheet for a 6 1/2 by 5 inch card with a background panel that is 5 7/8 by 4 3/8.

Now for the second problem:  What is my favorite paper pack?  It is probably Majestic Blue of which I have only a few pieces left, and if you have seen the Seinfeld episode about being "spongeworthy" you will understand my reluctance to use it for anyone other than the most special people in my life.  So what do I do?  I could use my favorite "pretty" paper (For Always), my favorite Christmas paper (Frosted), My favorite guy paper, (Timberline), or my favorite currently available paper (Charlotte).  As you can see I opted for Charlotte.  I edged each of the "sampler" pieces with a bit of black ink before attaching them to the background.

For embellishments I started with the Springtime Wishes stamp set which I stamped with Momento ink, colored with watercolor pencils, and cut out with the new coordinating Thin Cut.  I added a piece of a Small Black Flourish (retired but available on clearance), a heart from the Charlotte assortment and a black sparkle.  The final embellishment is a chipboard piece from the Charlotte assortment and a black sparkle.  The sentiment is from  the Sincere Expressions stamp set.

So there is my favorite current paper sampler.  Now please head over to Heart 2 Heart and Atlantic Hearts for some inspiration.  The Atlantic Hearts challenge is closed, but you have until the end of the month to enter the Heart 2 Heart favorite paperpack challenge.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Charlotte, White Daisy and Champagne cardstock
Ink:  Black and Black Momento ink
Stamp:  Springtime Wishes, Sincere Expressions
Embellishments:  Charlotte assortment, Small Black Flourish (retired, but available on Clearance), Black sparkles
Other:  Watercolor pencils, Springtime Wishes Thin Cut

A Valentine for My Husband

Because my DH occasionally reads my blog, I have had to wait to post this Valentine which I am entering in Heart 2 Heart's "Two" challenge.  After all, Valentine's Day is the day to celebrate love between two people.  I was inspired by this card by Jennifer Dykstra and used this tutorial to learn how to make a gatefold card with a window.  I have been doing a lot of playing with Black, White, and Red lately, so I thought I would add some Champagne to soften the effect, except that the paper that appears to be Champagne cardstock is actually a shimmer paper that I found at Michael's.  I cut the hearts with a Spellbinders Nestabilities set and then followed the directions to emboss the shape to get the outline on the smaller heart.  The triangle accenting the sentiment is the bottom half of a heart cutout with a few sparkles thrown in (because y'all know I love sparkles).  I cut the flowers using Close to My Heart's Artiste Cricut cartridge and used Black Epoxy Bubbles and Tan Opaques in the centers.  I placed the flourish so that both hearts were required to complete it to symbolize how my husband and I, two very different people, compliment and complete each other and that together we have made our marriage work for 38 years so far.  (I was a child bride...)  You may remember that this particular flourish in the retired Pearl Opaque Flourish set was composed of all small pearls.  I felt it was getting lost, so I spliced in some larger opaques from the large flourish that came with the set.  The smaller heart, sentiment and triangle are popped up with foam tape.

Here is what you see when you open the "gate:"

I had to splice in a piece of a flourish leftover from another project on the smaller heart.  I cannot believe that I managed to line everything up inside and out!  Both sentiments are from January's Stamp of the Month, Beloved Bouquet.  The cutouts have left me with extra heart halves which I am using to make a second card.  See, there is that number two again...

Thank you for stopping by!  Now please check out some other interpretations of the word "Two" at Heart 2 Heart Challenges and maybe even enter a project of your own.  You have until the end of the month to complete any of the February challenges.  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  La Vie En Rose, Ruby, Black, and White Daisy cardstock, shimmer cardstock by Recollections

Ink:  Black

Stamp:  Beloved Bouquet (retired)

Embellishments:  Pearl Opaque Flourishes (retired), Tan Opaques (retired), Black Epoxy Bubbles (retired), Black ribbon from I don't remember where, Black sparkles (retired)

Other:  Artiste Cricut cartridge, Heart Nestablities by Spellbinders

Heart 2 Heart and Color My Heart Joint Challenge

The ladies over at Heart 2 Heart and Color My Heart Color Dare Challenges are sponsoring a joint challenge with the theme of "Share the Love" in the colors Black, White Daisy and any or all of the reds: Cranberry, Pomegranate, or Ruby.  This was my cue to break out my new Artistry Cricut cartridge and make a Valentine for my daughter following this sketch from Try Stamping - or Not - on Tuesday:

All the shapes can be found on page 10.  After cutting the large heart, I covered it (and the paw cut out) with strips cut from Snowhaven, La Vie En Rose, Charlotte, the retired version of Cranberry Fundamentals paper, and Cranberry cardstock.  I edged some of the strips with black ink to create the super thin black lines.  Here is the inside:

Can you tell we like cats in our house?  Thank you for stopping by!  Now why don't you head over to Heart 2 Heart, Color My Heart Color Dare, and Try Stamping - or Not - on Tuesday Challenges for some inspiration and maybe even enter yourself?  We would love to see your work!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Snowhave (retired), Charlotte, La Vie En Rose, Paper Fundamentals (retired), Black, White Daisy, and Cranberry cardstock

Ink:  Black

Stamp:  Holiday Tags (not in the current catalog but still available)

Embellishments:  red enamel hearts

Other:  Artistry Cricut cartridge

Words of Comfort

This just under the wire card is based on the Freshly Made Sketch by Narelle:

My daughter is due home any minute, so I will have to tell you about this later.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Balloons for Atlantic Hearts Sketch 145

This is the first time I have played with Close to My Heart's Kaleidoscope Paper.  I love the crisp. clear colors!  I based it on this Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

I cut the balloons using the Artiste Cricut cartridge (Happy Birthday key) and sponged the edges with ink to give them some dimension.  Then I cut slivers of white cardstock, coated them with liquid glass, and placed the balloons over top so that the liquid glass pushed through the hole to emphasize the highlights.  The front row of balloons and sentiment are popped up with foam tape.  Here is the inside:

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Kaleidoscope, Pacifica, Gypsy, Pixie, Canary, Sunset, Pear and White Daisy cardstock

Ink:  Black, Pacifica, Gypsy, Pixie, Canary, Pear, and Sunset plus black journaling pen

Stamp:  Card Chatter - Birthday (retired)

Other:  Artiste Cricut cartridge

Heart 2 Heart One

If you have been following my blog for a while or have seen this post from 2013 that is still getting hits (!), you may remember that I love the lighthouse stamp from the retired Perfect Day set because it reminds me of the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia Beach where I grew up.  What I have not mentioned is that on the beach is the First Landing Memorial Cross to commemorate where the Jamestown settlers first landed in the New World and set up a wooden cross to thank God for their safe arrival and to claim the land for England.  Nearby on the bay is First Landing State Park where I grew up camping with the Girl Scouts (when it was called Seashore State Park) and where we spent Christmas night in a cabin with my sister and her husband.  This travelogue is a round about way of introducing Heart 2 Heart's first challenge of the new year, "One."  This can be interpreted any number of ways, so I decided to scrap the pictures I took the next morning at the beach.

First of all I have to tell you that I totally cased the sand dune border from Amie Kiger.  Please head over to her blog and check out the card she made for her daughter.  For this page I used paper from three retired packs, Seaside, Footloose, and Timberline.  I lightly sponged most of the edges, not so much to distress them, but to define them.  The lighthouse, flying birds and bird on the fence are from the Perfect Day stamp set, the sand dune fence is from Seaside Greetings, and the shell and sentiment from Treasured Friendship.  I used the Artiste Cricut cartridge to cut the letters.  I plan to do my journaling on the computer, so I have used temporary adhesive to attach a piece of Colonial White so that you can see where it goes, along with the date.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Seaside, Footloose, Timberline, all retired, Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Cocoa, Slate
Stamps:  Perfect Day (retired), Treasured Friendship, Seaside Greetings
Other:  Artiste Cricut cartridge