A snowflake for Mojo Monday

I have been having so much fun with my new Snowflake die cut from Tim Holtz.  (Click here for directions on how to use a Sizzix die cut with a Cuddlebug.)  Here I have used it with this sketch from Mojo Monday:

I love how Close to My Heart's Yuletide Carol paper combines with black and metallic gold to make non traditional Christmas cards.  After cutting and embossing the snowflake  I used a brayer to ink it with gold metallic ink from Color Box and then sponged more gold around the edges of it as well as the Colonial White and Black layers.  I then sponged just the very edge of the patterned layer with black to ground it. The sentiment from one of my favorite Christmas stamp sets, Snow Flurries (retired), is heart embossed with CTMH's new gold embossing powder.  Of course I had to put a sparkle in the center.  Have I ever mentioned that I love sparkles?

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Yuletide Carole, Black and Colonial White cardstock, Antique Gold Metallic paper by The Paper Studio

Ink:  Gold by Color Box, Black

Stamps:  Snow Flurries (retired)

Embellishments:  Black Sparkle from the Black and Grey assortment, Gold Embossing powder

Other:  Snowflake die cut and embossing folder by Tim Holtz (Sizzix)

 

Color My Heart in Sunset, Olive and Blue Denim

Here is a scrap your stash card featuring this week's Color My Heart Color Dare colors of Sunset, Olive, and Blue Denim.  I started with this sketch from Mojo Monday:

This sketch screams for a use scraps kind of card, so I chose Close to My Heart's Lucky, an oldie that goes back to the days when B&T papers were not printed on cardstock and just happens to feature the challenge colors.  I sponged the edges with Desert Sand and was very careful when attaching the strips because thin paper does not lend itself to repositioning.  I used sponge daubers to color and outline two Milepost Shapes (retired) and backed the star with another star cut from cardstock before attaching it with foam tape.  To complement it I added stars from the Scaredy Cat Assortment.  The sentiment is from one of the sets that comes with the Artbooking Cricut cartridge.  I used Post-it  Notes to mask off sections of the stamp before inking and stamped it twice, first with Cocoa and then Olive.  The clear acrylic of CTMH's stamps makes it easy to stamp twice and keep the parts of the image aligned.

Thank you for stopping by!  Now why don't you check out the other creations at Color My Heart and Mojo Monday and perhaps even enter one or both of these challenges yourself?  I would love to see your work!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Lucky (retired), Victory, Bamboo, Sunset, and Colonial White cardstock

Inks:  Desert Sand, Olive, Blue Denim, Cocoa

Stamps:  Artbooking Cricut Bundle 

Embellishments:  Scaredy Cat Assortment, Milepost Shapes (retired)

An Anniversary Card Made With Christmas Paper?

As promised in my previous post, here is a second non Christmas card made with Close to My Heart's Christmas paper, Yuletide Carol, this one based on this week's Mojo Monday sketch.  I deviated a little from the sketch because I thought the tag looked better at an angle rather than straight across.

I embossed the Champagne piece using Cuttlebug's Tiffany frame folder and then very carefully trimmed it with a rotary trimmer.  I have two trimmers, a Frisker's which I use most of the time and can be used cut out corners and a Cutterpede rotary trimmer which is handy for very precise cuts or when you need to trim just a smidge off of an edge.  I used a border punch from ek Success to make the bit of lace and then sponged all the pieces with Cashmere ink to give an aged, romantic feel.    

I embellished the card with the rose and a filigree piece from the Yuletide Carol Assortment and some ribbon that I bought ages ago from I do not remember where.  Because the rose overlaps the filigree piece and knot of the ribbon, I put a bit of foam tape under it on that side only.  This provided the needed lift while allowing the outer edge of the rose to appear to lay flat on the card.  Here is a close up:

 Here is the inside:  

Tomorrow, October 13th, is our anniversary, and yes, we got married on a Friday.  I never thought that I would be making an anniversary card using Christmas paper!  Do you think Tim will figure it out?  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Yuletide Carols, Black glitter paper, Black and Colonial White cardstock

Ink:  Cashmere, Ruby

Stamps:  The Happy Couple, In My Heart (retired)

Embellishments:  Yuletide Carol assortment, black ribbon of unknown origin

Other:  Artiste Cricut cartridge, border pinch by ek Success

Mojo Monday Meets Heart 2 Heart to Give Encouragement

A friend from church could use some encouragement right now.  What I love about Close to My Heart's "Look to the Light" stamp set is that the Bible verses are appropriate for a number of different types cards for my friends of faith.  I have made sympathy, thinking of you, encouragement, confirmation, and even graduation cards.  I started with this sketch from Mojo Monday:

I chose to use mostly blues in order to enter the Heart 2 Heart "Rhapsody in Blue" challenge.  After stamping the tree and sentiment in pigment ink and heat embossing them with clear detail powder, I colored the tree with alcohol markers.  I used CTMH's new stripes embossing folder to give texture to the banner.  To give the card some pop, I added some butterflies cut from Ariana Coral cardstock using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  I gave them some dimension by sponging the edges with Smoothie and then Outdoor Denim ink and attached only the bodies so that the wings can flap.  A few Clear Bitty Sparkles in the tree and Blue Sparkles (retired) for the butterfly bodies add some light because you know how much I like sparkles.

The Mojo Monday challenge closes in a few minutes, but you can always go over and check out the other cards for some inspiration.  The Heart 2 Heart "Rhapsody in Blue" challenge is open until the end of the month, so you have plenty of time to create something emphasizing blue and enter it.  Why don't you give it a try?  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Ariana, Ariana Coral, Outdoor Denim, Crystal Blue and White Daisy cardstock
Ink:  Smoothie and Outdoor Denim with Black and Outdoor Denim pigment inks, Crysal Blue, Sky, Outdoor Denim, and Sorbet alcohol markers
Stamps:  Look to the Light, A Tree
Embellishments:  Blue Sparkles (retired), Clear Bitty Sparkles
Other: Clear detail powder, Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, Srtipes embossing folder

One More Spotlight on CTMH's White Core Cardstock

This is one more post spotlighting the white core of Close to My Heart's cardstock for the Heart 2 Heart "In the Spotlight" challenge.  To add even more texture to your embossing you can use a sanding block lightly over the embossing to expose the white core.  This card also provides a sneak peak at the Skylark paper and embellishments from the Spring catalogue that goes live tomorrow.  Outdoor Denim is not one of the colors in the pack, but I like how it goes with the Skylark colors.  I sponged the circle with Sweet Leaf and embellished the sentiment with some Blue and Green Sparkles which were retired last season.

The layout is this sketch from Mojo Monday:

They are trying something new this year.  In the past the last challenge of the month was a choice of a circle or square card.  This year it will be a tall thin card.  Thank you, for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Skylark, Outdoor Denim, Sweet Leaf, and White Daisy cardstock
Ink:  Outdoor Denim and Sweet Leaf
Stamp:  Be Stll
Embellishments:  Skylark Assortment, Blue and Green Sparkles (retired)
Other:  Leafy Branch embossing folder from Cuddlebug