CTMH Technique Blog Hop: Season to Sparkle

This time of year is definitely a season to sparkle!  Join us on this technique blog hop to sparkle and shine. (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Michelle Loncar's blog.  From here, you'll visit Darlys Recker's blog next.)

For my card, I knew that I wanted to try to create a wreath from the pine bough stamp in the December stamp of the month, Reindeer Crossing.  It took a little trial and error, but a 3.75" square base provided the perfect size to stamp the bough 6 times to make a circle.

To me the wreath is pretty rustic, so I enhanced it first by coloring the pine cones, the stems, and a few of the little limbs with my watercolor pencils.  I went back and used my gold shimmer brush to paint the pine cones.  (It is REALLY hard to photograph that shimmer!  Hopefully you can see it in the photos above and below.)

I created a simple bow with white & gold ribbon and added gold glitter gems to highlight the wreath and sentiment (which I had gold heat embossed on the Evergreen base).

In case you missed it, here is another really sparkly card that I made using the December stamp of the month.  (You can learn more HERE.)  All of my paper for both cards is from the Cedar and Pine collection.

Thanks for letting me share some sparkle with you this season.  May your holidays be blessed with peace and love!  I'd love a comment before you hop on over to Darlys Recker's blog next!

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: Reindeer Crossing

Welcome to the December Close To My Heart stamp of the month, Reindeer Crossing, blog hop!  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, although I can't believe that December is here already!!!  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Katy Taylor's blog.  From here, you'll visit Lauren Moore's blog next.)

Both of my cards feature the pair of deer and the Cedar and Pine collection.  For this card, I tore White Daisy cardstock to create my snow drifts, making sure the middle piece was large enough on the right side to stamp the deer in black.  After gluing the three pieces together, I painted the background with my clear shimmer brush and then added Diamond Stickles to the torn edges.

The card base is Charcoal cardstock that I brushed Charcoal Shimmer Brush across (back and forth a few times) to mimic a starry night sky.  I stamped the sentiment in Candy Apple.  For the pine bough, I stamped it in Black on Evergreen and on Toffee, fussy cutting the bough and then the pine cones.  Hopefully the Diamond Stickles look like snow?  I added a pair of clear sparkles to highlight the sentiment.

Hopefully in this photo you can see the clear shimmer brush snow.  The Diamond Stickles photograph very well!

My second card features the same reindeer pair and a  a pretty sketch from Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 4.  After assembling, I added the sprays of pine in Evergreen behind the sentiment banner and a few gold glitter gems.

It's hard to see in the photograph, but I brushed clear shimmer under the deer to resemble snow.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope that my cards have inspired you, especially to add some sparkle with shimmer brushes and/or stickles.  Be sure to leave a comment and then continue on to Lauren's blog.  Visit all 17 consultants' blogs to get you into the holiday spirit!

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

Best Friends Furever Blog Hop

Close To My Heart has a purr-fectly wonderful pet collection on sale right now, and I've joined some of my favorite CTMH consultants to share ideas with this special with you!  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from the talented Katy Taylor's blog.  From here, you'll visit Darlys's blog next.)  You can learn more about the Best Friends Furever special if you don't already have a consultant.

In June, my husband found and rescued this tiny kitten who was literally on the brink of death (it was laying by its deceased sibling with no mama and no water in sight!).  While I did not want another dependent, this kitty sure has helped to fill a void in our new empty nest.

I let my pictures dictate my layout sketch, and I used the Best Friends Furever paper pack, the Kitty Cuddles stamp set, and even the Eat Play Love (dog) stamp set!

I embellished my layout with black enamel dots and black and white striped bows from the Cedar and Pine collection.

Feel free to comment on how adorable Jelly Bean was (and still is!) and even my layout before heading on to visit Darlys's blog next!

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

November Technique Blog Hop: Paper Layering

Welcome to the November Technique Blog Hop featuring paper layering!  You'll get lots of great ideas just by clicking from one blog to the next.  (If you're already hopping then you've probably arrived from the talented Michelle Loncar's blog.  From here, you'll visit Arty Maz next.)

I knew that I wanted to make a fancy fold card to incorporate multiple layers, and I decided to create an easy double gate fold card using the Cedar and Pines collection and the November stamp of the month, Family Time.

To create the card base, I started with a piece of 5.5"x12" Cedar and Pine patterned paper.  I scored the paper at 2", 4", 8", and 10", then folded to create the gate fold.  Finally, on the top outside corners, cut off triangles from the fold to 2.75".  Attach the cut off triangles to the bottom of the front card flap.

Both the circles (cut with Thin Cuts) and the inside panels use Candy Apple and White Daisy card stock.  I intentionally left the inside blank but will probably stamp a Christmas sentiment before I send this card to a dear friend.

On the White Daisy circle, I stamped the leafy spray in Toffee and then added leaves (1st and 2nd generation stamping) in Evergreen.  I used 3D foam tape to attach the flower (stamped in Peach, Candy Apple, and Black).  I think it should have been a little lower, but it was stuck very well so I left it!  I added in Gold & White ribbon and gold glitter gems to finish off the card.

The flower is the 8th paper layer on this card, so I think I met the technique challenge.  I'd love for you to leave a comment before you click on her name to hop on over to see Arty Maz's blog!  (Also, let me know in the comments if you have any questions.)

New Product Blog Hop: November and December CTMH Catalog

Have you already been drooling over perusing the brand new November/December Close To My Heart Idea Book?  It offers so many cute products just in time for your holiday crafting!  You're going to get lots of inspiration on this new product blog hop!  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Miss Carrie's blog.  From here, you'll visit Kristine's blog next.)

I did not go the traditional holiday route with my featured project.  The greens (Clover and NEW Candy Apple) of the new Holly Jolly collection were perfect with these amazing photos from our younger daughter's high school graduation photo shoot this spring.  I paired Pebble, black, and gold to match the photos.

To create my banners, I used the Artistry CTMH/Cricut collection, and then stamped my title in Black with the Simply Said stamp set from Story by Stacy (available in the 2019-20 Core Catalog).

The pretty black & white striped bows are from the Cedar & Pines collection, and they are perfectly tied and self-adhesive (Swoon!)!

Because the photo shoot turned out so well (Thank you, Alex Collins!), I am using a flip flap to add another photo (this smirk cracks me up) and will add journaling before adding this layout to her senior year album.

I used Holly Jolly dots, gold glitter gems, gold shimmer trim, and NEW gold stickles to accent this layout.

Because my photos of my layout don't do the actual photos justice, here's her graduation announcement photo.  (Thank you for letting me share my beautiful girl!)  Note that our holiday papers don't have to be used for a holiday project!

Thank you for hopping by!  Please leave a comment before you hop on over to Kristine's blog!

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

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: Family Time

Welcome to the November Close To My Heart stamp of the month blog hop featuring Family Time!  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from the creative Miss Carrie's blog.  From here, you'll visit Kristine next.)

For my card, I was challenged to use the Holly Jolly collection, but I'm not quite ready for Christmas!  I decided to focus on the blues and greens, so I stamped "Grateful" in new Green Apple ink, "for you" in Clover, and the flower and arrows in Glacier.  Adding the neutral Toffee lined petals and spray plus the Espresso flower center helped ground the entire card.  (I'd like to try this card again using Clover for "Grateful" and Candy Apple for the "for you" sentiment.  I'll post if I do!)

Adding the gold and white ribbon, gold shimmer gems, and Holly Jolly Dots finished off the card nicely (in my opinion).  I'm really glad that I added the ribbon.

This stamp set provides so many opportunities for crafting projects!  Please leave a comment before continuing the hop at Kristine's blog for more great ideas.

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

Artbooking Halloween Card

Since both of our girls are in college, I wanted to send them something special in the mail for Halloween.  I decided to use the CTMH/Cricut Artbooking cartridge to make a haunted house "card" even though the Cricut idea is to make a mini book.

I cut all of these pieces at 4.25" so that they would easily fit in a card envelope.  I had originally planned on using the Saffron bat cutout behind the black haunted house cut, but you really couldn't see the bats.  I decided to cut a Saffron background for the haunted house cut and then a Charcoal background for the Saffron bats cut out.  (Hopefully that makes sense!)

I attempted to sponge a sunset on the Saffron background so that the windows would seem lit up and the background would be the setting sun.  I sponged Saffron, Paprika, and Sangria inks on the background.  I used a scrap of Hawthorn Sage herringbone B&T for the door.  I added gold Stickles to mimic candles in the windows, and used a white epoxy gem for the "full moon."  I bound the card together with thin white & gold ribbon.

On the inside of my card, I used a retired Halloween stamp set for the bats and the "Happy Halloween" sentiment (stamped in Sangria and again in Charcoal to fussy cut the bat after cutting out the circle with my Thin Cuts).

Hopefully the girls will like their Halloween surprise!  I am featuring this card on the Heart2Heart "Anything Goes" challenge and entering the Color Dare #366 Hawthorn Tic-Tac-Toe challenge (Sangria, Charcoal, & Saffron), the Double Trouble #41 Batty Challenge, and the Crafting Happiness #20 Halloween challenges.

CTMH Technique Blog Hop: Back to the Basics

This month's technique blog hop is to get back to the basics.  You are going to see so many variations on this theme, and you might learn a new technique or two along the way! (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Melissa's blog.  From here, you'll visit Miss Carrie's Creations next.)

My first "back to basics" is that I used the Hawthorn collection with a sketch from the (retired) Magic How-To Guide. 

 I used the October stamp of the month, Autumn Air, to accent my layout.

My next "back to basics" is rainbow inking, or inking up my stamps in more than one color before stamping.  NOTE: Always ink up with your lightest and then move to your darker colors.  For "Fall" I inked up the top half with Paprika and the bottom half with Sangria.  The small leaf was inked with Sage and I then rolled an edge in Paprika.

You can really see this stamping technique on the large sentiment square.  After lining up the two stamps onto my block, I inked up the top portion with Saffron and then the middle portion with Paprika, finishing with Sangria on the bottom.  (With a large image like this one, you might want to "huff," or blow some warm breath, onto your inked image to make sure all the ink is wet before stamping.)

Thank you for visiting!  Please leave a comment before you hop on over to Miss Carrie's blog to continue the Back to the Basics blog hop.

H2H Sparkle

Close To My Heart offers so many ways to add sparkle to your projects, and the most recent October Heart2Heart Challenge is capitalizing on this sparkly goodness!

While you might not see the sparkle at first, just turn this wedding card a bit in the light to see the Mint and Juniper shimmer brushes on the vellum flower die cut.

That velvet Julep ribbon is delicious and luxurious!  Unfortunately, the Swiss Dots folder is no longer available.

Be sure to check out all of the H2H Sparkly creations and join us this month!

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: Autumn Air

The calendar says that fall is here, but we are still sweltering in the South!  Hopefully the October stamp of the month, Autumn Air, will help you get into the fall spirit.  (If you're already hopping, you've probably arrived from Brenda's blog.  From here, you'll visit Kristine next.)

My card was quick to make.  (I was inspired by a card on p. 20 of the current September-October catalog.)  I began with a Toffee cardstock base, then added pieces of Hawthorn paper.  Because I didn't have the new Paprika and Sangria inks (yet), I stamped the sentiment in Saffron only, but now that I have all three inks I would use them all for a rainbow effect.  I finished my card with gold shimmer trim and the acorn and leaf that I fussy cut then mounted with foam tape for a little dimension.

Please leave a quick comment before you continue along the hop to see what Kristine has created to inspire you!

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

A Little Hello

My nephew and I recently made two similar versions of this card to send to my girls in college.

We used the Hawthorn collection, and I cut the pumpkin from CTMH/Cricut Artistry collection with Sage and Saffron card stock.  We used the September stamp of the month, Random Acts of Cardness, for our sentiment, and tied a little white & gold ribbon around the stem.

 After making the card, Will didn't have a whole lot to say. LOL

Isn't this sweet?  He has been my crafting buddy for a long time.

The September stamp of the month will soon be gone, so get yours ASAP!

Share the Seasons Blog Hop

In honor of National Stamping Month, Close To My Heart is offering a few Share the Seasons options.  We have two stamp sets and two Thin Cuts die cuts that you can buy individually or in bundles through the end of the month.  Get some great ideas along this blog hop!  (If you're already hopping then you've probably arrived from Michelle's blog.  From here, you'll visit Miss Carrie's Creations next.)

Since the bundles with the Thin Cuts are currently on back order (but available to order if you're willing to wait), I focused on the Giving Thanks stamp set and the Hawthorne collection.  This card came together quickly with the help from a Make It From Your Heart sketch and Saffron, Sapphire, and Toffee ink.  I embellished my card with White & Gold thin ribbon and some gold glitter gems.  (One of my college daughters will be getting this card before you know it...)

Thanks for hopping by!  Please leave a comment before you hop on to Miss Carrie's Creations!

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