More of the March Stamp of the Month: One Cool Cat

The cat stamp in the March stamp of the month, You're the G.O.A.T., is absolutely adorable (in my humble opinion)!

I used the Smarty Pants paper pack with Peach and Charcoal ink plus Onyx Liquid Pearls and bitty sparkles.  Who would you send this card to?

More of the March Stamp of the Month: No Lion

This simple card uses 1"x4" strips in Espresso, Mocha, Toffee, and Shortbread.

This color palette is so cute with so many stamps from the March stamp of the month, You're the G.O.A.T.!

H2H Challenges: Hip Hip Hooray!

It's time for another fun Heart2Heart Challenge: Hip Hip Hooray!  I've chosen to share a little birthday fun.

To create the focal image, I cut the base out of White Daisy cardstock using the coordinating Thin Cut.  I inked up the candles in Lemonade and the cake plate in Glacier and then stamped onto the die cut.  After cleaning my stamp, I inked it up in Wild Berry, stamped on scrap cardstock, and then fussy cut the sentiment portion, which I then adhered onto the die cut.  I finished off the card with Wild Berry shimmer trim and Cake Day dots.

Be sure to check out all of our H2H Design Team's project and join us with your own Hip Hip Hooray!

March/April Catalog New Product Blog Hop

Close To My Heart has released yet another fabulous two-month supplemental Idea Book!  This blog hop is featuring new products from the new March/April catalog!  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Darlys's blog.  From here,  you'll visit Gina Brandstetter's blog next.)

I wanted to share the Cake Day paper suite and scrapbooking stamp set plus Thin Cuts, which were a great match with pictures from my niece's 21st birthday celebration earlier this year!  I ended up using a sketch from Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 3.

It's hard to tell, but the 1/2" black border strip is actually black shimmer trim.  I used my favorite Daisy Alphabet stamp set for the #21 tag.  I also have a funny picture of the girls under the bottom right photo.  I will use a flip flap to flip up the top photo and add more journaling underneath to tell a little more about our night and to make sure that future generations recognize my brother, his wife, my niece, my sister, my girls, and me.

I had lots of fun creating the B-Day Bash cake.  I inked the candles in Lemonade and the cake stand in black and then stamped the partial images onto the White Daisy Thin Cut outline.  Next, I stamped the center portion of the stamp in Green Apple on scrap White Daisy.  I fussy cut this sentiment then adhered this piece onto the Thin Cut piece.  I stamped the tiny accent stamps from the stamp set in 
Wild Berry and added some Lemonade dots from the matching collection.

I finished off my layout with gold Stickles on the candle flames.

Thanks for letting me share this layout of an amazingly fun evening with you!  Please leave a comment before hopping on to Gina's blog!

March Technique Blog Hop: Creative with Cardstock

With the amazing Close To My Heart Cardstock Carnival Celebration, this month's technique blog hop is featuring are beautiful cardstock.  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Lauren's blog.  From here, you'll visit Wendy's blog next.)

I had fun with the (recently retired) Kaleidoscope embossing folder and my circle Thin Cut die cuts to make two 5"x7" cards.  I used the Cake Day color palette as my inspiration: Wild Berry, Lemonade, Glacier, and Green Apple.  I used my For All Occasions stamp set for the sentiment and accented with black bursts.

For my second card, I fussy cut elements from each colored cardstock panel and adhered to my White Daisy base.  After I started outlining some of the circles with a black marker, I'm not sure it was such a great idea, but here we are anyway. LOL  I embellished the card with black enamel dots.

Be sure to take advantage of CTMH's cool Cardstock Carnival special offer this month!  Please leave a comment before you hop on to Wendy's blog next!

March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: You're the Goat

The March Close To My Heart stamp of the month, You're the G.O.A.T., is so much fun!  I love a good pun (and I don't care if you judge me for that or not)!  Join me and our group of talented CTMH makers for a fun blog hop featuring this punny stamp set.  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Show and Tell with Michelle's blog.  From here, you'll visit Darlys's blog next.)

I had a blast creating a set of four 3"x3" cards with the NEW Cake Day collection paired with You're the G.O.A.T.  (I love the tiny size of these cards because I often don't have a lot to write but want to give a heartfelt, handmade card.)

My first card features the cute frog in Candy Apple with the sentiment stamped in black.  I added Black Onyx Liquid Pearls to the eyes and as "gems" on the banner.

My second card uses a cute pattern from Originals.  (This sketch was actually from the second book, not the first.  Does anyone else remember the fab how-to guide, Originals?)  Again, I used Black Onyx Liquid Pearls to accent the eyes of this cool cat.

My third card uses another cute sketch from Originals.  I accented it with Wildberry glitter gems.

My finally card is another quick & easy card with the frog (or toad?) and sentiment stamped in Candy Apple, a zip strip, and black enamel dots.

Thanks for letting me share these fun and easy 3"x3" cards with you.  Please leave a comment before hopping on to Darlys's blog next!

For All Occasions Sawyer Cards

The Sawyer collection is so pretty and spring-y!  I like how CTMH added some darker shades with the pastels to keep the collection fresh.  Both cards use Sawyer and the For All Occasions stamp set.

My first card uses a sketch from the Love Story cardmaking workshop.  I added Mulberry glitter paper and a little line of Mint stickles.

My second card uses a sketch from Make It From Your Heart.  The banner paper is pretty enough to stand alone, so I added the sentiment then decided to fill in "happy" with some Mint stickles.  Next time I want to make the stickles dots, I think I will actually use a hole punch to make cardstock circles then cover with the stickles.  

Remember, Sawyer is retiring at the end of the month, so be sure to get yours before this pretty collection is gone!

Love Story Scrapbooking Workshop Layout 2

The second layout that I made from this workshop collection started with the general idea from one of the instructions (the black & white torn side bars), but the rest was all me.

(BTW, the Love Story papers are available in our core catalog all year in Black, Mink, or Toffee, but only through the end of the month, Close To My Heart is offering cardmaking and scrapbooking workshop bundles!  Be sure to download the instructions HERE for both before they're gone!)

I used the Love Story Scrapbooking stamp set and Thin Cuts plus the Love Story black glitter die cuts to embellish my layout.  I love how they mimic the cool background in our pictures!  On my title banner, I used the back of the leaves to create the solid stamping, a black Thin Cut, and a glitter leaf die cut.  The "time" is from the stamp set, plus I added the Daisy Alphabet stamp set.

On the right page, I again added a flip flap so that I could share more of my photos.  I also added some black shimmer trim for more glit and glam.

My sister, my girls, and I had a great night getting dressed up for my niece's birthday party!  Love Story pairs so well with just about any pop of color you could want to add.

Love Story Scrapbooking Workshop Layout 1

The Love Story papers are available in our core catalog all year in Black, Mink, or Toffee, but through the end of the month, Close To My Heart is offering exclusive cardmaking and scrapbooking workshop bundles!  (Be sure to download the instructions HERE for both before they're gone!)

I made this layout pretty much exactly as the guide instructs (though the journaling strip is a little different.)  Our daughter was a bridesmaid for sweet high school friends.

This color scheme of Evergreen, Sangria, and Peach plus the black & white Love Story matched our photos beautifully.  I used stickers from the collection (colored with sponging and markers) and a few stamped, Thin Cut pieces from the Love Story- Scrapbooking stamp set.

On the right page, I will use a flip flap to be able to share more of our photos without taking up more room on the layout.

Remember, while the Love Story papers are available through August, these exclusive workshop bundles are only available through the end of the month.

Here's the Story Meets Love Story

The Love Story papers are available in our core catalog all year in Black, Mink, or Toffee, but only through the end of the month, Close To My Heart is offering cardmaking and scrapbooking workshop bundles!  (Be sure to download the instructions HERE for both before they're gone!)

I decided to make the first two cards in the workshop but paired them with the February stamp of the month, Here's the Story, instead of the Love Story Cardmaking stamp set.  I also added Black Onyx Liquid Pearls to embellish my cards.  The black acrylic hearts are part of the workshop collection or available separately.

For my first card, I added a thin strip of Papaya glitter paper instead of the recommended piece.  I used Papaya and Black ink.

The second card uses Evergreen and Black ink.

Be sure to grab your Love Story workshop(s) before they're retired!

Sweet As Honey Cards

For my January card class, I had fun making these cards live on Facebook using the Sweet As Honey collection!  (I can't believe that I didn't get them posted here in a more timely manner.)

How do you like the Sundance shimmer brush splatters?

Who knew florals could be pretty in shades of gray?

Get your Sweet as Honey products before they retire at the end of the month!

Salt Lake City Layouts

When I scrapbook, I like to let my photos drive my layouts, although I do sometimes create pretty layouts that I then have to try to find photos to match.  My photos from our visit Salt Lake City layouts were definitely the deciding factor in how I created my layouts.

I used a bit of As You Grow (Shortbread gingham), Wood Grain collection, and Bluebird cardstock (all from the core catalog),  plus elements of Sweet as Honey (only available through the end of the month).

The Party Alphabet makes a really fun title.  You can use the outlines, the solids, or both as I did here.

On the left page, I added a top-fold "card" to add more photos and journaling.

I think all of the elements ended up working well together!

I also made 6"x8" layouts for my daughters' travel albums.  (The journaling is blank for them to tell their stories rather than mine.  Same trip, different perspectives- sometimes greatly different! LOL)

Don't be afraid to mix and match collections!