Freshly Made Sketches Meets Color Throwdown for Valentine's Day

After my last post about a valentine for a friend to give to her husband, please don't think I neglected my own husband.  Here is the one I made for him using this Freshly Made Sketch and this week's Color Throwdown colors, dark pink, black and gray:

I started by using the A Layer of Birch Press Design's Adora layering die set to emboss the background.  Do you think that can count as the leaf element?  The smaller heart is Melon Mambo layered over three black hearts, brushed with Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents for sparkle AND shine (although it does not show well in the photo).  The black layers subtly echo the word "love" which was cut from black glossy paper.   For the "gray" elements I used Champagne foil paper and gray sparkles.  The card front is popped up with a piece of craft foam for added dimension.

Here is the inside which I embellished with hearts leftover from the card in my last post.  The stamping is embossed with silver and Versamark ink and clear detail powder over black ink.

Yes, he liked it.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used:
Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 cardstock, black and Melon Mambo cardstock, Champagne foil paper, and black glossy paper from Stampin' Up
Ink:  Raspberry Pigment ink from Close to My Heart, Onyx Black Versafine ink, Versamark ink
Stamps:  Thoughtful Messages by Simon Says Stamp, Mad About You by Close to My Heart
Embellishments:  Gray sparkles from Close to My Heart, Silver detail embossing powder by Ranger, Clear detail powder by Stampendous
Other:  Adora Layer A die by Birch Press Design, Sweet and Sassy framelits from Stampin' Up, Cupid Hearts Border die by Simon Says Stamp, Opulent Swirls die by Crafter's Companion for Gemini

Shiny Valentine

This is a Valentine for a friend's husband.  Before you get the wrong idea I have to tell you that she asked me to make it for HER to give him.  I made it following this Freshly Made Sketch and assorted foil papers from Stampin' Up.

I cut the hearts using the three smallest dies from the Stampin' Up Sweet and Sassy framelits set and Simon Says Stamp's Cupid's Heart Border die from four foil papers (Black, Champagne, Lovely Lipstick and Grapefruit Grove) and proceeded to play mix and match.  Yes, I have a lot of hearts for other projects...  The overlapping hearts are popped up with thin foam tape.  For the word "Love" I used the die from Hero Arts Love stamp and cut to cut two from black cardstock and one from black foil paper and stacked them.  The rest of the sentiment was embossed in copper using words from the Thoughtful Messages set from Simon Says Stamp.  This required cutting (gasp!) the word "you" from the sentiment strip "you more today than yesterday."

This picture does not accurately show how shiny the hearts and "Love" sentiment are.  The Grapefruit Grove is particularly beautiful because it has a holograph effect when you tilt it, appearing to be copper until the changing angle of the light lets you see waves of pink and a bit of green shimmer.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Happy Valentine's Day with Hearts and Swirls

This card started with my Grandmother who sent me a card featuring an ocean scene that had been embellished with quilling.  Knowing my hope to sell my cards at craft shows and the local farmer's market once my daughter moves into a group home, she wrote "...I'll bet you could do something like this very profitably!"  With visions of curly-cue hearts, I began my research and found The Art of Quilling website to be very helpful.  Following this Atlantic Hearts Sketch, I made a valentine for my darling husband.

Lets just say there was a bit of a learning curve...  The quilling strips you can buy in craft stores are a fairly lightweight, pliable paper, but I had cardstock so that's what I used to make my own.  My initial thought had been to quill the hearts and use a stamped sentiment.  Then inspiration kicked in and I decided to make some X's and O's.  Now Close to My Heart's paper has a white core which can itself be a design element, but that is for another card someday.  I wanted pink edges.  I probably don't have to tell you that inking the edge of a 1/8 inch wide strip of paper is not easy.  I solved this issue by inking the edge of the sheet of paper and then slicing off a 1/8 inch strip, repeating until I had all the strips I needed.  The only things to remember when doing this are to apply the glue to the white edged side of your shape and, if you care about what direction your curls go, keep that in mind when rolling your paper.  You may notice that my O's curl in opposite directions.

This being February, it goes without saying that one of the Heart 2 Heart challenges for the month is "Falling in Love," so I will be entering this card in that challenge as well.  I used a sentiment from the retired "Mad About You" stamp set inside but wrote a way too personal message for y'all to see before I photographed the card, so you will just have to take my word for it.  I also used a zip strip and some Hollyhock cardstock to embellish the inside.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  For Always (retired), White Daisy, Black and Hollyhock (retired) cardstock
Ink:  Hollyhock, Black (inside)
Stamp: Mad About You (inside)

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

Iris Folded Hearts

I can finally post my valentines!  You see, it has come to my attention that my darling husband reads my blog.  Of course I am flattered but this does make posting cards I have made for him somewhat problematic...

This week the ladies over at Heart 2 Heart want to see a Close to My Heart product that we love. Hmmmm.  What do I love most about CTMH?  The sparkles?  The ShinHan markers that allow me to have sparkles in many colors?  Thinking back to my introduction to CTMH, the thing that attracted me immediately was the paper.  I love all the layers of color and pattern.  I have been wanting to try iris folding, which is a cool technique where you place folded strips of paper across the back side of a cut out shape so that the design spirals into the center leaving an opening in the middle that is reminiscent of the iris of a camera lens.  Here is a link to a more detailed description and tutorial.  The heart pattern that I used can be found here.  First I made a practice card which my husband and I gave to our daughter:

I used a very old paper, Sweetheart, and this Sketch from Try Stamping on Tuesday:

I like how the plaid pattern swirled almost looks like marble.  To finish the card I used one of the zip strips from Heartstrings which is available through the end of March.  That is another cool thing about CTMH's paper:  Each background and texture paper has a ready to go border along the edge.  I rounded the corners and had a sweet CAS card that reminds me of a Picture My Life card.  Now that I had mastered an iris fold heart it was time for the main project, my husband's valentine:

For the background I selected one of my all time favorite papers, For Always.  I love the vintage look and all the texture.  Although it has been retired as a paper, it lives on in a Picture My Life card pack, so I know I have a fall back when I use up my stash.  For the iris folding I used a metallic paper that has been in my stash for so long that I don't remember where I got it.  The roses take advantage of something else I like about CTMH's paper, the white core.  After I cut the roses out of Champagne cardstock using the Artisite Cricut cartridge (F key, accent 2), I exposed the white core by using a file to remove the color from the edges of the petals.  Then I sponged some Blush ink along the inside edge of the spiral before rolling it up using one of my favorite tools, the quilling tool.  Before I got it I used to roll flowers using a knitting needle which did not roll nearly as smoothly.

If I had been making a flower using a dark color and wanted to edge the petals in another color I could have sanded the petals to expose the white core and colored the edge with ink like I did  here:

After stamping the sentiment I used a border punch from ek success to punch one scallop's worth of the pattern on each end and then added narrow strips of the metallic paper along the edge and tan bitty opaques in the center of each flourish.  I attached a bow, sparkle flourish (because y'all know I love sparkles), and more tan opaques in the center of each flower and was almost finished.  The completed iris folding on this card was bulkier than on the first card, so the layer would not lie flat. To solve that problem I used lots of foam tape to attach it to the card.  The layout is based on this Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

I had a lot of fun with iris folding which means you will be seeing more of it from me in the future.  In the mean time, thank you for stopping by!  Now how about visiting Heart to Heart, Atlantic Hearts and Try Stamping on Tuesday for some more inspiration?  Maybe you could even enter one or more of the challenges yourself.  I would love to see your work!  Until next time, Hansi

A Freshly Made Heart

It's February, the month of Valentine's Day, so it comes as no surprise that the theme of the first Heart 2 Heart Challenge of the month is "Home is Where the Heart Is."  I have to admit that I followed this Freshly Made Sketch pretty closely, but what can I say?  I need a few Valentines to enclose in my college care packages.

I started by cutting a heart using Close to My Heart's Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and some strips from Snowhaven.  I applied adhesive to the heart, laid down the strips including a bit of black glitter paper for good measure, flipped over the heart, and cut away the excess.  I planned to add some black sparkles to the centers of the flowers except that I did not have enough, so I used a black ShinHan marker to color some clear bitty sparkles and used those instead.  I ran a sponge with black ink along the very edge of the heart and the polka dot strip with black to help them stand out.  Black hemp, red enamel hearts, and a sentiment from the Holiday Tags stamp set complete the card.

Thank you for stopping by!  Now why don't you check out Freshly Made Sketches and Heart 2 Heart Challenges for some more inspiration?  You have until the end of the month to enter any of the February Heart 2 Heart challenges.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Snowhaven, black glitter paper, black, red, and white daisy cardsstock, black glitter paper
Ink:  Black with black ShinHan marker
Stamp:  Holiday Tags
Embellishments:  red enamel hearts, bitty sparkles, black hemp (retired)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Continuing my theme of using nontraditional colors for valentines, I made this one for my husband with a new Close to My Heart paper pack, Ivy Lane.  Of course the love of my life deserves something special, so I used this tutorial from Splitcoast Stampers to make a three dimensional card.

I used the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut the flower ((page 69) and hearts (page 26) and the Artiste cartridge to cut the leaves (page 54).  I sponged all the edges except those of the flower and card base with Smokey Plum.  I love the small sparkle flourish and am so happy to see that they are now available in black (even if I didn't use them here).  Just to make sure there was enough sparkle, because you can't have too much, I put one in the middle of the flower and some bitty sparkles down the side panels.  The inside was as much fun to do as the outside.

Did I mention that the theme of this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge is "Hearts Galore?"  You know that I will be entering this card in it!  Thank you for stopping by.  Now please head on over to see more hearts.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Ivy Lane with Hollyhock, Sweet Leaf, White Daisy and Bamboo cardstock
Ink:  Smokey Plum
Stamps:  Scandinavian Wishes (retired), Happy Valentine's (retired)
Embellishments:  Small Sparkle Flourishes, Bitty Sparkles, Clear Sparkle
Other:  Art Philosophy and Artiste Cricut cartridge

Going ouside of My Comfort Zone With Washi Tape

When I saw this Atlantic Hearts Sketch I thought about washi tape:

Washi tape is the big thing now... and I have most of the Close to My Heart versions... and I bought a pack with three rolls that screamed my name at Michael's... yet it makes me nervous.  With paper, I move pieces around and maybe try more than one color before I glue it down.  Although you can, if you are very slow and careful, remove washi tape, it just doesn't have the same flexibility if you want to play with your design.  You might say it requires some commitment.  Well it was time for me to get out of my comfort zone and play.  I had several ideas which was okay because I have to send Valentine's Day care packages to the college students in my life which means that I need four valentines.

First I combined Close to My Heart's Silver Geometric tape with the black lace, black geometric and musical notes tapes that I bought at Michael's and, to add to the shine, some narrow strips of Black Glitter paper.  Amie Kiger  would be so proud of me!   Rather than try to trim the washi tape, I just folded it around to the back.  I had to do a little trimming in the corners.  The sentiment is a combination of "A Little Everything" and "Say It in Style" (both retired). 

That pretty, bright red is Tulip which is, unfortunately, retired, so for my next card I switched to Ruby.  I Used CTMH's Ruby Chevron and Slate Polka-Dot with the two black tapes from Michael's and, of course, the black glitter paper.  Usually I sponge on the corresponding ink to hide the white core that shows though after embossing, but this time I left it visible to complement the distressed feel of torn washi tape. 

For my last card in this series I used the black tapes from Michael's, Ruby Chevron tape and the Silver Geometric along with the Black Glitter paper.  After I applied the tape I used a Nestabilities die cut from Spellbinders to punch out the heart.  I was afraid that the Cricut would pull up some of the tape as it sliced along the paper.  (Have any of y'all tried using a Cricut to cut paper that has been covered with washi tape?)  I then repeated the die cut on some black cardstock, placed the washi covered paper on top of the black cardstock, lined up the heart shaped holes and attached them, and then trimmed the black cardstock to form a narrow border.  The plan was to use half a roll of foam tape to attach it to a Ruby card, but after laying the panel on a the Ruby card base, I thought the Ruby border made the card too dark, so I put a square of Ruby cardstock on a Colonial White card base positioned so that the heart would be red but the border would be white.  Then I used half a roll of foam tape...

 Here is a close up so you can how the washi taped panel is popped up with the Floral Accent nestled in the well, so to speak.

Now what about that washi taped heart that I punched out?  I used it to make another card with this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

After having so much fun with washi tape and valentines I continued the fun with a couple non valentines which will be in my next post.  In the meantime, I have to pack some boxes and get them to the Post Office in the morning.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Ruby, Tulip (retired), Black and Colonial White cardstock, Black Glitter paper
Ink:  Ruby, Tulip (retired), Black
Stamps:  Holiday Tags, A Little Everything (retired), Say It in Style (retired)
Embellishments:  Ruby Chevron, Slate Polka-Dot, and Silver Geometric Wasi Tape, black lace, geometric and musical note washi tape from Michael's, Black sparkles, Base and Bling Floral Accents (retired)
Other:  Nestabilities heart die cut, Paper Lace II embossing folder by Cuddlebug

Yes, My Cats Send Valentines! Don't Yours?

Luna and Phoebe, AKA The Feline Moon Goddesses on facebook, have over 900 friends.  Now their little paws would be a mess if they sent valentines to everyone, but they do send them to a few special friends and four legged relatives.  I have been wanting to try a white on white card, so when they commissioned me to make some valentines for them, I did this white on white CAS card.  I popped the square with the cat and heart up with some foam tape to give it some dimension.  It is postcard style, so here is what the back looks like:

Needless to say, I had to create the greeting on my computer.  The layout is this one from Freshly Made Sketches :

Thank you for stopping by!  You can stop laughing now...  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used are from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Paper:  White Daisy cardstock

Ink:  Tulip (retired) and Slate

Stamps:  Mad About You (retired), cat from Inkadinkadoo, paw prints from Recollections and All Night Media

Other Stuff:  Heritage embossing folders from Cuddlebug