Cake Day Fab @ 50 Layout Share

My family and friends helped me celebrate a big birthday in a big way earlier this year!  I thought that Wildberry ended up being a great addition to the black & gold color scheme of the layout I made to commemorate the celebration.

I used the recent Cake Day stamp set and Thin Cuts stamped in Toffee, Ballerina, Wildberry, and Black plus cut the 50 out of gold glitter paper with my retired Thin Cuts alphabet and numbers.

Banners or pennants are always festive!  I used some of the Love Story (Black) papers also.  The stamp is one in my stash from a retired special that seemed to fit very well.

I have to reprint a photo of my daughters and nephews but will add that soon to finish this layout.  

Remember that Wildberry, the color of the year, won't be around forever!

May Stamp of the Month with Hope & Kindness

 Hope & Kindness is a beautiful collection available this month only.  I paired it with a sentiment from the May stamp of the Month, You Can Do Anything, to create this simple card.

I inked up the sentiment in Desert Rose and Harbour and added a gold glitter gems to finish off this pretty (if I do say so myself) card.

You can view all of this month's special offers HERE before they're gone!

National Scrapbooking Day: Good Vibes

Don't miss out on the awesome Good Vibes National Scrapbooking Day, available while supplies last!

I used my kit to create the layouts pretty much as the guide directed.

This kit paired perfectly with our recent spring break beach trip photos.  Grab yours before it's gone HERE!

May Stamp of the Month, You Can Do Anything, Mountain Card

The mountain scene in the May stamp of the month, You Can Do Anything, is so peaceful that I thought it would make a nice retirement card.

After stamping the image (and a few clouds) on a 3.75"x5" panel of White Daisy cardstock, I colored the image with watercolor pencils.  I chose greens and blues to mimic our Appalachian mountains and lake living.  I blended everything with a paint brush and water, then added some Lemonade shimmer brush to the sun.  I wonder how it might look with some sun rays but was afraid to go too over the top.  I finished it off with a Postage Frames Thin Cut in Sapphire.

Fresh Paint Card

Our daughter flew to Paris on Tuesday to study abroad this summer, and I snuck this card into her suitcase to wish her bon voyage!

I used the Fresh Paint collection (paper, scrapbooking stamp set, and acrylic shapes) and sketch from Make It From Your Heart. 

I am happy to report that she made it safely and loved her card.

H2H Challenges: International Scrapbooking Month

It's May, which means it's time for (Inter)national Scrapbooking Day and Month and our first Heart2Heart Challenge!

I have to show off the Good Vibes National Scrapbooking Day kit!  I made the first page pretty much exactly like the guide but then added my own title block on the flipflap middle element.

The right page is also pretty much identical to the guide, but on the back of the flipflap element I made my own ocean waves.

You can see how I played with both shades of Glacier cardstock.  At first, it was too "flat" (even with the paper tearing "foam" edges) but clear shimmer trim made the cardstock sparkle similar to the water.

Be sure to visit the H2H blog, check out our designers' inspiration, and join us!

May Stamp of the Month: You Can Do Anything

Happy May Day!  Close To My Heart has some amazing specials this month, including the pretty May stamp of the month, You Can Do Anything.  My stamp of the month blog hop group is trying something different, opening up more opportunities for all on Facebook.  You can find us HERE!

I created two almost identical cards with scraps leftover from my Good Vibes National Scrapbooking Day bundle and the May stamp of the month.

For my first card, I used the Sage heart side of the largest strip.  I stamped the sentiment in Sage and Espresso then accented with Espresso birds in flight and wooden flowers (also leftover from the Good Vibes kit).

For the second card, I turned the card and used the Glacier side instead of hearts (but used a scrap as a piece of "washi tape" on the sentiment).  Again, I used Espresso ink and some extra Sundance cardstock.

Find us on Facebook HERE!

April Stamp of the Month Thank You Cards

 Here are two simple thank you cards I made with the April stamp of the month, Message in a Bottle.

I used the In Full Bloom collection and then had fun lightly coloring (tracing) the bottles to add some color.  After coloring the yellow stars, I added Lemonade shimmer brush.

Thank YOU for visiting!

National Scrapbooking Day Blog Hop

Don't let the title fool you!  Today isn't National Scrapbooking Day!  This blog hop is featuring projects made with the cool product bundles available to order NOW to get ready for lots of Close To My Heart fun on Facebook on National Scrapbooking Day.  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Darlys's blog.  From here, you'll visit Katy's blog next.)

I made this layout after creating the two layouts from the Good Vibes scrapbooking kit.  I had to add some White Daisy cardstock, but I always have that in stock.  I used my Daisy Alphabet stamp set to create my title piece.  I plan to journal on the other block on the left page.  The stickers and wooden flowers were all "leftovers" from the original kit.  I did fussy cut the camera out of the patterned paper to create that little piece.

Don't be afraid to use the scraps from your projects!  I plan to make some cards with the small pieces that are left.

Please leave a comment before hopping next to Scrappin Katy's blog!

{Click HERE for all the blog hop participants' links.}

Mini Bendy Birthday Cards

The "mini bendy" card style was new to me, so I featured it as my April VIP project for my VIP customers.  (Let me know if you'd like to learn more!  Click HERE for a little info about the perks of being a CTMH VIP.)  

Today, I am sharing two cards that I made in this fun style.  Both use the Cake Day Scrapbooking stamp set and Thin Cuts.  The first one features the Cake Day paper collection.  I stamped my cake image with Lemonade, Green Apple, and Black inks.

Don't you love the dimension of the card?  It will lay flat to mail and then stand up due to the bendy band and the pop-up folds.  Though it doesn't photograph well, I used Lemonade and Green Apple shimmer brushes on the stamped image.

The back features two panels so that you have room to write a message.  I made this card for my mother-in-law for her 85th birthday!

My second card features the same style and stamps but with the In Full Bloom collection.

I used Lemonade, Mint, Lagoon, and Black to stamp the cake. 

I embellished the cake with Gold Stickles, Mint and Lagoon shimmer brushes, silver glitter dots, and silver shimmer trim.

Though this card looks complicated, it isn't too terribly hard to make.  Become a VIP to receive access to monthly exclusive project (retroactive to all that are available)!

H2H Challenges: Anything Goes

Heart 2 Heart Challenges is kicking off the month of April with an "anything goes" challenge!  I decided to share a layout that I made with our Craft with Heart scrapbooking subscription program.  (We offer both cardmaking and scrapbooking subscriptions; learn more HERE.)

In addition to the beautiful layout that you can make with the subscription, I added in a pocket page and additional coordinating cardstock to be able to showcase all of our photos of our visit to Bryce Canyon National Park last summer.  I love how well our products work together!

You can see how I added my stamps and cardstock to stretch this kit a little further!

Be sure to visit the Heart2Heart Challenge blog and join us with "anything goes" in April!

April Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: Message in a Bottle

Happy April Fool's Day!  You won't find any tricks here, just treats, as we showcase the April stamp of the month, Message in a Bottle, on our monthly blog hop.  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Darlys's blog.  From here, you'll visit Show and Tell with Michelle next.)

I created two cards using patterns from Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 2, the In Full Bloom paper collection, Intense Black ink, and Liquid Glass (with Black & White Dots as my simple embellishments).

For my first card, I stamped the bottle with Intensive Black ink only Glacier cardstock and then fussy cut it out.  I also stamped the heart stamp in the bottle.  I used one of my aqua Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend markers to add some shading to the heart.  I then applied Liquid Glass over the entire inside of the "bottle."  I love how it literally makes my stamped image look like glass, and I also love how these alcohol-based markers don't bleed!

For my second card, I stamped the bottle on Avocado cardstock and then stamped the note inside.  I stamped the note a second time on the lighter side of a scrap of Avocado cardstock, fussy cut, and then stamped the sentiment inside.

Before applying the Liquid Glass, I colored the cork with my Gold Brown Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend marker.  (I can't express enough how much I love that they don't bleed under the Liquid Glass!  They will bleed through cardstock so be sure to add a layer under your coloring.)

This pretty stamp set has a variety of bottles and sentiments to choose from.

Please leave a comment before continuing the April stamp of the month blog hop by visiting Show and Tell with Michelle next!

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