Seasonal Expressions 1 Blog Hop

The new Seasonal Expressions 1 is my absolute favorite that I've seen from Close To My Heart in a long time!  I am hoping that you will love it as much as I do!  You'll see so many fabulous projects (and new product) along this Seasonal Expressions blog hop.  (If you're already hopping then you've probably arrived from Jean McNulty's Stampin Maui blog.  From here, you'll visit Krista's blog next.)

I fell in love with the Chelsea Gardens collection as soon as I saw it!  Today I am featuring four cards I made with this paper pack, dots & gems, ribbon, the Scrapbooking stamp set, and the NEW Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 4 card sketch how-to guide.  (Yes, I used the scrapbooking set for cards!  Also, you're not crazy- I typed four but you only see three.  Hang on until the end!  I really made four cards!)  For this card set, I stuck with the colors from the Chelsea Gardens collection: Glacier, Juniper, Sweet Leaf, Fern, and Charcoal.

This first card is Pattern 1 from the new Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 4 card sketch how-to guide. 

Here's a tip to be successful with this card: Use a post it note or two to mark the imaginary line at 3" from the top.  Also, you can see how I stamped the leaves directly on the card base, inking them up first in Sweet Leaf and then rolling the edges in Fern.  I stamped the flower in Glacier with the edge rolled in Juniper on scrap paper (the center is Charcoal) and then fussy cut it out to adhere to the card front.  What you can't see is the gorgeous shimmer brush sparkles on the flower itself.

My second card is Pattern 23 from MIFYH 4.  The base mat is actually one of the Picture My Life cards from the paper collection cut down to size following the sketch instructions.  The Fern leaves on the right were stamped directly on that beautiful patterned paper.  The one on the left was stamped on scrap and cut out, as was the flower using the same techniques as the first card.

This close up helps show off the shimmer brush.  If you look even closer, you can tell that the black enamel gem has a bit of sparkle to it too.

My third card uses the MIFYH 4 Pattern 12.  What do you do when you need a piece that is just a little too small for your word?  Stamp it first on a larger piece, then use your trimmer to trim it down, stopping at the letter(s) that hang below the line.  Then use your scissors to trim around that letter!

I stamped the pretty scroll banner in Glacier and then the "Perfect" sentiment in Juniper to match "Together."  It was super easy to cut out and attach with foam tape.

My fourth and final card also uses the Chelsea Gardens collection and MIFYH 4 exclusively but looks nothing like the first three!

I used the beautiful gray papers from this collection to a make this card based on Pattern 20.  The dotted bottom border is a stamp from the Chelsea Gardens Scrapbooking set.  I used one of the flower centers to randomly stamp some of the polka dots in Charcoal.  I decided to combine two of the sentiments on the Sweet Leaf banner, so it's a little longer than the sketch.  I used a few of the Chelsea Garden dots to complete this card.  Don't you love those neutral patterned papers and how well grays and Sweet Leaf go together?

Finally, here's a peek at another Chelsea Gardens project I'll be featuring later this week.  Be sure to come back often!

Thanks so much for taking the time to scroll through my entire post!  I hope I've inspired you to check out the beautiful Chelsea Gardens collection.  You're going to fall in love with the Seasonal Expressions 1 2018.  Now go see what KRISTA has created!

{Click HERE for all the hop participants and their blogs.}