Celebrating NOvember with Heart 2 Heart

This month the ladies over at Heart 2 Heart Challenges are celebrating NOvember with each challenge involving some sort of no, that is something you are not allowed to use or do.  I have added my own theme of sNOwflakes.  Don't get me wrong.  I love snowflakes as a design element, but the real thing is another matter.  I like snow if we get enough to shut everything down for a day or two, say eight to 10 inches, and then melt quickly.  You Yankees and Canadians can stop laughing.  Unfortunately we are more likely to get two or three inches which is only enough to make the roads a mess and you are still expected to go to work, but schools will be closed, so you need to make alternate arrangements.  Really, y'all can stop laughing now.  The thing is, here in Richmond, Virginia you never know which it is going to be.  We have had "slight accumulation" forecasts turn out to be 16 inches which is why we always go to the grocery store to stock up anytime the slightest possibility of frozen stuff is called for.  To tell you the truth, we Richmonders like to enjoy our snows (as long as we have plenty of bread, milk, eggs and toilet paper) which is why we close down or find that we just can't make it into work.  Seriously, I don't think my little one way street has ever seen a snowplow.  Yes, I do love snowflakes as a design element, so here we go.

First up is the NO stamps challenge:

That was easy enough.  I have a Cricut and Cuddlebug.  As I have mentioned before, I love the elegance of Close to My Heart's Yuletide Carole paper, particularly when paired with metallic paper and/or ink.  It doesn't show in the photo, but the gold paper and distressing around the edges of the black paper is metallic.  To get a nicely gilded edge, I first heavily sponged around the edges and then, holding the paper straight up, pushed each edge into the soft stamp pad.  I lightly sponged the edges of the snowflake and patterned panel with black.  This card is based on the Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

The next Heart 2 Heart challenge was NO ink.

Hmmm.  This was a little more interesting because I like to use ink to define edges, create dimension, etc. and, of course no ink rules out stamping unless you don't consider Versamark to be an ink, which I do.  I was inspired by this card I saw on Pinterest.  The image is no longer on the blog page, but you can see it on my pin.  The use of texture and the clean look of white and a neutral attracted me.  Thanks to my Cricut and Cuddlebug, I could get by without ink.

For the next challenge the rule was NO embellishments.  

No embellishments?!  There is a reason why they call them challenges, because this one was definitely a challenge for me.  I assumed that embossing also counted as an embellishment.  And how can I do without sparkles?  I did use a little bit of glitter paper in the center of the snowflake before attaching it with foam tape for some dimension.  I used this Freshly Made Sketch but put the ribbon element, in this case a punched border, on the bottom because it fit my design better.

The last challenge had NO rules. 

Great!  I could just make a card! After punching the snowflake border and sponging gold metallic ink all around the panel, I sponged the very edge of a strip of gold and put it behind the openings.  The ornament is edged with a bit of black ink and popped up with foam tape.   I used this Freshly Made Sketch as my inspiration:

There you have it, just under the wire, four sNOflakes for Heart 2 Heart's NOvember challenges.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

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

No Stamps Challenge:
Paper:  Yuletide Carol, Black and Colonial White cardstock with gold metallic cardstock from Michael's
Stamps:  none
Ink:  Black (edges of snowflake and patterned paper), Gold Metallic ink by Color Box (edges of black paper)
Embellishments:  Yuletide Carol assortment, Tan and Pearl opaques (retired), Black ribbon from I don't remember here
Other:  Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, Holiday die cuts by Spellbinders

No Ink Challenge:
Paper:  Colonial White cardstock with Gold Metallic cardstock from Michael's
Ink:  none
Stamps:  none
Embellishments:  Pearl opaques (retired), Colonial White satin edged organdy ribbon (retired)
Other:  Art Philosophy and Artbooking Cricut cartrigdes, Stripes and Quatrefoil embossing folders

No Embellishments Challenge:
Paper:  Yuletide Carol, Colonial White, Champagne and Black cardstock with Bronze Metallic cardstock from Michael's, black glitter paper
Ink:  Black (stamp and edges of patterned paper)
Stamp:  Very Merry Christmas (retired Stamp of the Month)
Embellishments:  none
Other:  Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, Snowflake punch by Martha Stewart, Snowflake border punch by ek Success

No Rules Challenge:
Paper:  Yuletide Carol, Black cardstock, Gold Metallic cardstock from Michael's
Ink:  Black (edges of Gold cardstock and patterned paper), Gold Metallic ink by Color Box (edges of Black cardstock)
Embellishments:  Black sparkles, Tan opaque (retired), Black ribbon from I don't remember where

Gold Trees for Atlantic Hearts

Here are three Christmas cards using this Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

When the new Close to My Heart Annual Inspirations came out, I was thrilled to see that they now offer Gold, Silver, White and Clear Detail embossing powders.  Y'all know how much I love to emboss!  The tree comes from a Thanksgiving stamp set, Always Grateful, and the flourish from an old Halloween Stamp of the Month, Wicked.  Who says you have to limit your use of a stamp to the holiday for which it was intended?

This year's Christmas paper, Yuletide Carol, is so elegant!  Here paired it with gold metallic paper from Michael's:

Yes, I like glitter paper, but sometimes I want the soft sheen and quiet elegance of a metallic.  To complement the gold paper I gilded the edges of the black panel with gold metallic ink from Color Box.  I also lightly sponged the very edge of the printed panel with black.  I find that when you have an open dark pattern printed on a light background, sponging the edge gives it some definition against the layer below it.  It is subtle, but if you try with and without sponging you will notice a difference.

Next I used Pear and Partridge, a Christmas paper from a few years back, along with the gold paper:

I used a Sap Green ShinHan marker to color some bitty sparkles to embellish the zip strip.  Thanks to the new markers I can have sparkles in many colors!

Lastly I went back to Yuletide Carol, selecting a more traditional paper and colors:

Again, I gilded the edges of the green and patterned panels with gold metallic ink and, for good measure, backed to green panel with gold metallic paper to provide a very narrow border  before layering it onto the Colonial White.  I embellished it by wrapping some black glitter Seweasy fancy floss by We R Memory Keepers around the center panel and adding a bit of black ribbon I got somewhere.  I don't remember where.  I should also mention that I popped up the Christmas tree panels with foam tape.  

There you have three takes on Atlantic Hearts Sketch #82.  I like the first version best, but the last one follows the sketch more closely, so that is the one I plan to enter.  Why don't you go over and see what others have done with this sketch?  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Yuletide Carol, Pear and Partridge (retired), Black, Emerald Green and Colonial White cardstock, Gold metallic paper from Michael's

Ink:  Gold Metallic ink by Color Box, Sap Green ShinHan marker

Stamps:  Always Grateful, Wicked (retired)

Embellishments:  Clear Bitty Sparkles, Gold embossing powder, Seweasy fancy floss by We R Memory Keepers, Black ribbon of unknown origin

Color My Heart in the Orange of your Choice

The Color My Heart Color Dare this week is to pick your own orange, so I combined the Sunset in an old paperpack, Mischief, with this Atlantic Hearts Sketch to make a final Halloween card.

The cat is from the "Eek & Shriek" stamp set and the broom and sentiment from "Halloween Greetings."  This is just a reminder to watch out for the gain when you are using embossing folders particularly Stripes.  Here is what happens when you are in a hurry and don't:

If you don't know how to find the grain, here is a video that shows you how:

Thank you for stopping by!  Now why don't you hop on over to Color My Heart and Atlantic Hearts to see how others have met these challenges or, better yet, enter one yourself.  I would love to see your work!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Mischief (retired), Sunset and Colonial White cardstock

Ink:  Black and Slate with Marigold ShinHan marker

Stamps:  Halloween Greetings, Eek & Shriek

Embellishments:  Sequins from Black Min-Medley Accents, Clear sparkle, ribbon for where I do not remember

Feeling Witchy

As much as I like Close to My Heart's Eek & Shriek stamp set (In case you don/'t know, I LOVE cats), my favorite Halloween stamp is this sassy witch from the Wicked set which was a available as a Stamp of the Month a few years ago.  I stamped her in black and sponged the panel with Thistle, Sunset, and Black inks and while I was at it, sponged around the pieces cut from Scaredy Cat paper with Black.  The broom and sentiment come from the Halloween Greetings set available in the current CTMH catalog.  You may notice that the embellishment from the Scaredy Cat Assortment has been flipped.  I thought it looked better to have the cat facing towards the center, so I peeled off the glue dots and flipped it over.  I used liquid glass to attach it to Black glitter paper before attaching it to the card.  I love that the metal pieces in the Scaredy Cat Assortment are so thin and flat.  This would be the perfect card to enter in the Cards in Envy "Any Witch Way You Can" Challenge except that the only way to make the witch fit and still have room for the other elements in this Heart 2 Heart sketch was to make the card 7x5 inches.

The Cards in Envy Challenge requires that cards be no more that a quarter inch thick and fit in an A2 envelope so that they will be easy to mail.  The theme for the current challenges is "Any Witch Way You Can," and since this is such a great witch, I had to made a second card using the same technique but in the A2 size.

This is the last of my cards to enclose in Halloween care packages to the college students in my life.  Given that this is National Chocolate Day, my daughter and I had to do a quality control check as we put the packages together.  Thank you for stopping by!  Now please head on over the Heart 2 Heart and Cards in Envy to see how others have met these challenges.  There is still time to enter either challenge if you so are inclined.  I would love to see your work!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Scaredy Cat, Black, Colonial White, and Slate cardstock, Black Glitter paper

Ink:  Thistle, Sunset, Smokey Plum, and Black ink

Stamps:  Wicked (retired), Halloween Greetings

Embellishments:  Scaredy Cat Assortment 

Freshly Made Halloween Kitties

The Color My Heart Color Dare is to use Thistle and Sunset, the colors in Close to My heart's new Scaredy Cat paper.  The first card was based on this Freshly Made Sketch:

For both cards I started by using clear detail powder to heat emboss the tree from the Eek & Shriek stamp set and then sponged over it with Thistle and Black.  I had planned on keeping the upper right corner uninked, but it did not quite work when I started to put the card together, so I sponged on a bit of Sunset which warmed it up and fit better with the rest of the paper.  The cat was cut using the Artbooking Cricut cartridge (page 70) cut at 2.75 and then stamped.  The thing to remember about the Artbooking and new Artfully Sent cartridges is that the images on a given page are designed to cut in proportion to each other to make a particular project.  In this case the images are intended to make a scrapbook page with the size set to 11 inches.  If you set the size to 2.75 and do not push the real dial size button, you will get a .75 inch cat because the Cricut thinks you are making a 2.75 inch scrapbook page.  I know this because in my rush enthusiasm I forgot to set my Cricut on real dial size...   I used my ShinHan markers to color the collars and sparkles.  The metal medallions are from the Scaredy Cat assortment with Bamboo and Sunset papers behind them to help the cutouts show.  On the second card I sponged the edges of the striped layer with black to give it a cleaner line against the card base.

Thank you for stopping by!  Now why don't you head on over to Freshly Made Sketches and Color My Heart to see what others have been inspired to make?  If you are inspired to take the Color Dare you have until Thursday night.  You do not have use Scaredy cat paper and if you do not have the exact colors use the closest ones you have.  Feel free to throw in any neutrals.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper: Scaredy Cat, Bamboo, Sunset, Slate and Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Black, Thistle, and Sunset with Marigold and Peony Purple ShinHan markers
Embellishments:  Scaredy Cat assortment, Clear sparkles
Other:  Artbooking Cricut cartridge

Creative Blogger Award

A couple weeks ago I was honored to receive an e-mail from the New Jersey Stamping Queen, Marie Flayer, nominating little ol' me for the Creative Blogger Award.  Marie is a talented paper crafter and Close to My Heart consultant who made me feel welcomed when I first began blogging and has always encouraged me on my blogging journey.  If you don't know her work, hop on over to her creative corner of the kingdom, NJ Stamping Queen, take a look at her fabulous and adorable work, and leave her some love.  What is the Creative Blogger Award?  Basically it is an invitation to join a blog hop where you answer four questions about your creative process.  As you take the tour you might meet some new bloggers and be inspired.  Thank you, Marie, for inviting me to join this group of creative women.  Here are some links to the blogs of some of the other talented women who are a part of this tour.  I encourage you to check them out if you don't know them already.

Marie Flayer

Jody Gustafson

Amy Moore

Karen Day

Brenda Rose

Vicki Wizniuk

Kelly Janes

Amie Kiger

Katy Donaldson Taylor

Now for the Questions:

What am I currently working on?

Except for putting together the care packages for the college students in my life and trying to resist the temptation to perform quality control checks on the chocolate, I have finished Halloween (even if the posts are not up yet).  That means it is time to think Christmas!  In addition to the usual cards and tags, I make gift bags by stamping and embellishing non-coated white  bags.  I have never posted them, but maybe I will this year.  Stay tuned.  The most pressing thing, though, is making the ornaments for my church's Advent trees.  Our Advent trees are similar to the Angel Trees where you take a tag labeled with a need and fill it.  We collect toys and clothing for a number of children's programs and schools.  Here are a few leftover from previous years:

It is a little hard to tell in the photo, but all have sparkles or glitter glitz and most are inked with metallic ink.  Let's just say that my Cricut comes in handy.

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I can't say my work is unique, but I can tell you a little about it.  I like to try different techniques, but my favorite is resist embossing.  I love to play with color and often layer different colors of ink when I am sponging edges or resist embossing and I don't hesitate to bring in colors that are not part of the paper pack.  I enjoy the challenge of coming up with ways to use stamps, papers, and embellishments that not how they are marketed to be used.  I have made boy cards out of girly paper, Valentines in non traditional colors, birthday cards with Christmas stamps, and birthday, thinking of you and romantic cards using Halloween and Christmas paper.  One of my favorites is this anniversary card that I made using Close to My Heart's Yuletide Carol paper and assortment pack:

Why do I create what I do?

For me, cardmaking is a combination of therapy and ministry.  My life is complicated.  While I am creating, my mind is occupied, and I don't think about those complications.  When I am finished I have something that I can send to someone to brighten their day.  In addition to the usual birthdays and special occasions, there are always people who need encouragement.

How does my creative process work?

All over the place, lol!  I find a lot of inspiration in challenge blogs.  As a matter of fact, I started this blog long before I was a Close to My Heart consultant because I had been following some challenge blogs and decided that I wanted to take the next step and enter my work.  I will often start with an idea but find that as I work I am switching out papers and trying different embellishments and sometimes end up with something completely different.  That is okay because I find that if I let go of my original plan and let the Holy Spirit take a hand in it I end up with something far more satisfying then what I had originally planned.  For this card I had planned on using a new stamp to make cut outs of embossed leaves.  It just wasn't working, so as you can see, I let go ended up with something else:

Sometimes, particularly when I am trying a new technique, I will make more than one version.  I also  try to lay my card out and walk away for a few hours.  It is not unusual for me to come back later and see something I want to change.  If I glue it down right away, I often regret it later.  Although I am usually a go with the flow INFP, I am a very detail oriented perfectionist when it comes to my art.  After all, a card is something you are going to give to someone.  

Now that I have shared my creative journey with you, I get to send y'all to the next stop on this tour.  It is my pleasure to nominate Becca Whitham, a crafter and a writer.  She is constantly experimenting with new techniques and stepping out of her comfort zone and inspires me to do the same.  She also totally rocks the clean and simple style!  Check out her blog, Expressions, and go back next Monday, November 3rd, to get some insight into her creative process.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Freshly Made Snowhaven

In my last post I showed y'all a birthday card featuring Close to My Heart's new Snowhaven paper.  Now here I have used it in a more conventional way to make a Christmas card following this Freshly Made Sketch:

For the focal point I wanted to pick up the motif in the border, so I used CTMH's Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut the star on page 25 and then cut it through the center like a pie to get the diamonds.  A Black Epoxy Bubble forms the center.  I couldn't help myself and added some of the new Red Hearts for a bit of fun.  My choice of sentiment was influenced by the fact that this paper pack reminds me of a warm winter sweater.  Here is the inside:

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

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

Paper:  Snowhaven, Glacier, Black, Cranberry, and White Daisy cardstock

Ink:  Black

Stamps:  Very Merry Christmas (retired stamp of the month)

Embellishments:  Red Hearts, Black Epoxy Bubbles