November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: It's the Little Things

It's already time for our Close To My Heart stamp of the month blog hop, featuring November's It's the Little Things stamp set.  (If you're new to this blog hop, just click each link to the next person to go all the way through to get 60 or more ideas with this stamp set.  If you're already hopping, then you've arrived from Dana's blog.  You'll hop on over to Paige next.)

The floral stamps in this set are perfect for random stamping!  While random stamping is basically stamping images all over your card stock (or whatever base you're using), there are a few things you can do to achieve this look.  First, start stamping with the largest image.  (You can always fill in any empty spaces with little stamps, but you'll never squeeze in a big on otherwise.)  Think about stamping in triangles, building off of each triangle "point."  (Can you see what I mean with the large yellow Canary flowers, above?)  Then start filling in the white space with the medium-sized stamps and finally the smaller stamps.  Another rule of thumb to help you random stamp is the "pint-quart-gallon" rule: this works for the size of the stamps and the color saturation.  You want a little (pint) of one color, a medium amount of another color, and a large amount of the third color.

My first card (above) uses the Brushed paper pack and Canary, Pixie, Hollyhock, and Cranberry inks.  I added in Gold polka dot washi tape mounted on White Daisy card stock, gold glitter gems, and red shimmer trim.  I modified a sketch from the Make It From Your Heart  how-to guide.

My second card uses the bright color palette of the Confetti Wishes paper pack.  I random stamped my flowers in Crystal Blue, Lagoon, Pacifica Thistle, and Canary with Pear for the leaves.  I kept the sentiment off to the side to showcase these pretty stamps.  Finally, I embellished my card with purple shimmer trim and (retired) purple sparkles.

Thanks for checking out these two cards using the same basic technique but very different colors for two totally different cards.  I'll be back with a layout and more ideas later this month.  Be sure to come back often!  Now go check out what Paige has made, because it truly is the little things that matter.

Click HERE for the complete list of hoppers- in case you get lost along the way!

Eat, Drink, and Be...

SCARY!  This card uses one of the cute pocket cards that you can easily & quickly cut with the CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge.

Actually, it uses two of the pocket cards, because that adorable cat is the negative (or throwaway) part of another CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent pocket card!  Even though she is in Gypsy, I think she's a lovely addition to this card.

To back each row of the cutouts, I used a little washi tape to hold scraps of Scaredy Cat B&T and some silver glitter paper.  I finished off the Sunset card base with another Scaredy Cat scrap, black shimmer trim, and black epoxy bubbles.  Happy Halloween!

Boo!

Here's another fun Halloween card that I made with the Scaredy Cat paper pack and the CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge & stamp set.

 The Artfully Sent cartridge does all the work to make this cute swing card!  It is makes adorable cards so so easy!

A little purple & black shimmer trim and a black enamel star from the Scaredy Cat assortment finishes this card off nicely.  Of course I have to link this one up to the H2H Midnight challenge.  Happy Halloween!

H2H Challenges: Midnight

It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark... (Yes, the "Thriller" lyrics popped into my head with this week's final October Heart 2 Heart challenge, Midnight.  I guess I am showing my age!)  This challenge is perfect for Halloween, although you don't have to use this holiday as your inspiration.  The Fantabulous Cricut Challenge blog has thrown down a Halloween challenge (#234) this week too!

This amazing (if I do say so myself!) pop-up card was so easy to make with the CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge and stamp sets.  It was a bit time consuming, but it wasn't hard.  To begin, I cut out the haunted house image with Black card stock.  I then cut the inside of the card (the actual pop-up mechanism with the ghost and moon cut outs) on Whisper card stock.  (I knew that I wanted to use the Scaredy Cat paper pack.)  Next, I cut the spooky tree from Slate card stock.  (I later cut the sentiment pieces from Colonial White card stock and B&T from the Scaredy Cat paper pack.)

 Scroll down for a quick photo tutorial of how I made the sunset background.  I used three zip strips for the pieces that ground the sentiment.

 To create the "glowing" haunted house windows, I backed that piece with two pieces of Honey card stock.

Here is the front of this cool CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent 5"x7" card.  (I used Slate card stock for my card base.)

The spider and web were also cut from the CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge.  I cut off the spider's silk and used a piece of metallic neutrals baker's twine to "hang" it.  (The spider is attached to the knot with a glue dot so the spider will actually swing.)  The black shimmer trim adds a bit of bling to this fairly plain card front.  I didn't want to overpower the inside!

Now here's a tutorial for how I created the "sunset."  I sponged inks in the following order using one of our round sponges that I cut into quarters.  (I only used one quarter for the entire card.)

Inks used for "sunset" (bottom to top): Canary, Honey, Sunset, Thistle, Gypsy, Outdoor Denim, and Black. Begin with Canary at the base of the top half of the card.

 Sponge on some Honey...

 then Sunset...

 followed by Thistle and Gypsy...

 finishing off with Outdoor Denim and Black.

Thanks for letting me share!  I hope you have a SPOOK-tacular Halloween!  Be sure to check out all of the H2H DT's Midnight projects, and join any of our October challenges by 10/31!

Embellishments: neutral metallic baker's twine, black epoxy bubbles, black shimmer trim

H2H Challenges: October Sketch

This week's Heart 2 Heart challenge is to use a sketch that I designed.  (Thank you to H2H DT members Brandi & Adeline for digitizing the sketch for me!)

Here is the card that I made for this challenge:

To start, I grabbed my October stamp of the month, Home for the Holidays, and random stamped the candy in Cranberry on my card base.  The striped paper from Snowhaven was perfect as is for the bottom strip.  I think that every Christmas card should have some sparkle, so I added a strip of red shimmer trim.  I stamped the bear image three times: once in Slate on the CTMH/Cricut Art Philosophy postage stamp cut; in Glacier on a square of White Daisy; and once in Cranberry to cut out the scarf.  I mounted the finished "stamp" onto a piece of Snowhaven B&T.  I didn't cut off the zip strip but rather left it on for a little decoration.  I finished the card with Cranberry marker cheeks on the bear and a Slate twist tie.  This flat card will be easy to mail this holiday season!

(BTW, did you know that Christmas is less than 10 weeks away?!? That almost makes me panic, but I plan to try to enjoy the days until then!)

I first used this sketch for a teacher appreciation owl card (details HERE) that I wanted to share again.

Be sure to check out how the talented H2H design team interpreted this sketch, and then give us your take on it.  Thanks for stopping by!

P.S.  You only have until the end of the month to get the adorable October stamp of the month!

Haunted House Card

The new CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent card made this fun haunted house card soooo easy to make!  I ran a piece of black card stock through the machine to create the card base (one easy click of the cartridge) and then ran the Gypsy card stock through to create the purple panel.

I decided to back the moon cut out with white card stock and then color the bats on the moon black.  I also added Honey and Pear card stock to the haunted house to make the glow of the windows and to add a door.  A few white stars finished off this fun card.

Here's the inside.  I stamped Happy Halloween from the Artfully Sent stamp set and added a little arrow washi tape.  Are you getting ready for Halloween?

Thank you!

Thank you to the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog for selecting my bird cage card was one of the Top 5 for the #230 Shape Up Challenge!

Thank you also to the Color My Heart Color Dare for selecting my card as the Ruby winner of the Cranberry, Canary, and Glacier color challenge!

Shin Han Markers Blog Hop

Have you tried Close To My Heart's new Shin Han Touch Twin markers?  You are going to get tons of great ideas along this blog hop!  (If you're already hopping, welcome from Paige's blog.  If you're just getting started, you'll leave here to go to Sarita's blog next.

Since I do NOT like to color, my favorite marker technique is to color embellishments like our silver shimmer trim with the Shin Han markers.  You can turn the silver trim into almost any color you like!  Just use the broad tip of the marker to color the shimmer trim and then let it dry for a bit.

Here are a few other projects where I've colored the silver trim:

I didn't have any pink shimmer trim for this In the Pink journal entry, so I made my own.

The gold and purple are actual shimmer trim colors that we have, but the "Pacifica" uses our Shin Han markers!  (You can find the complete details HERE if you're interested.)

How about this pretty "Thistle" trim?  The Peony Purple Shin Han is a great match.  (For more details, click HERE.)

See what I mean?

Thanks for hopping by!  Have you tried coloring embellishments with markers?  Now check out Sarita's great idea!

Click HERE for the complete hop list.

H2H Challenges: Guilty Pleasures

Oh come on, admit it!  We all have them!  This week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge is guilty pleasures.  I decided to use my In the Pink My Crush journal to document mine.

I created a simple list of my favorite guilty pleasures.  I just wrote them directly into this page of the journal with a pen.  I did add a title with the new CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent alphabet.  I embellished my page with pieces of the In the Pink Assortment and sticky tabs plus Lagoon hearts washi tape and silver shimmer trim that I colored pink with a Shin Han Touch Twin Tender Pink marker.  I also used a few leftover scraps cut from Sorbet card stock with CTMH/Cricut Artbooking cartridge.

Be sure to check out the H2H DT's guilty pleasures.  We hope that you'll share yours with us too this month!

Happy World Card Making Day!

Today is World Card Making Day, and I was able to carve out a little time to play with my brand new CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge and stamps.  As soon as I saw the bird cage card/cuts, I knew what would be my first card!

This card was so very easy to make!  I began by cutting out the bird cage card with the Glacier wood-grain B&T from the Seaside paper pack.  I loved the polka dots on the inside, so I used another sheet to cut the piece with the bird cutout.  I also knew that I wanted to fill the bird cutout with a bird, and I remembered the current Color My Heart Color Dare #113: Glacier, Canary, and Cranberry.  Why not?  Canary's a great color for a bird, and I love aqua and red together.

What do you think?  I like the color combo!  The metal flowers are from the Brushed assortment.  I also used a white and several gold  glitter gems, plus gold polka dot washi tape and red shimmer trim.  (All supplies from Close To My Heart.)

Now here's the inside of the card.  Since the polka dots were pretty busy, I added a Colonial White panel that I distressed with Canary ink.  The "just because" sentiment is from the Artfully Sent collection.

Finally, I want to link this bird cage card to the Fatabulous Cricut Challenge #230, Shape Up: use any shape but a rectangle or square.  Happy World Card Making Day!

Edited 10/10/14:
Thank you, Fantabulous Cricut DT, for selecting this card as one of the Top 5 for the FCCB Challenge #230!

H2H Challenges: Scrapbook Selfies!

The October Heart 2 Heart scrapbooking challenge is to show off your selfies!  Since I got an iPhone this summer, taking selfies has never been easier (although my arms are not long enough for the most flattering photos!).  I snagged several of the selfies I've taken this summer and then created this layout in Studio J.

The Lollydoodle collection seems like a fun choice for my pictures and fit the general color scheme well.  I love how easy it is to scrapbook in Studio J, virtually at any time and anywhere.  When I order and receive my layout, I plan to add sparkles to give it a bit more bling.

Thanks for checking out my layout.  Now go see what the other designers have created and link up your scrapbooking selfies soon @ H2H!