Lovely Layers - CTMH Technique Blog Hop

I love creating cards that mimic a monochromatic look. 

While shades of purple is not always my favorite combination, they sure are pretty all together. 

I chose three shades; Pansy, Thistle and Eggplant. 

I chose these colors of cardstock to highlight the "Lovely Layers" technique for this month's Blog Hop. 

I used one of our newest stamp sets "Dandelion Wishes" for the adorable flower and the "Birthday Wishes" sentiment. 

There are also 15 other Close to my Heart Consultants sharing there amazing artwork with you, so please be sure to make your way around the entire Blog Hop. 
You are going to love what you see!

If you are coming from Michelle Loncar's Blog, you are on the right track. 
Should you get lost along the way, all participant's links can be found here. 

For this card I started out with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 Eggplant cardstock card base. 

I used a layer of White Daisy cardstock. 
Then a layer of Pansy cardstock.
Then another layer White Daisy cardstock, in which the Dandelion is stamped on.
All of the layers of cardstock were distressed with Thistle Exclusive Ink.

Then a strip of Thistle cardstock under a piece of White Daisy with the sentiment stamped in Black and Thistle Exclusive Ink. 
I popped the sentiment up on some of our 3-D Foam Tape. 

The inside of the card has a layer of White Daisy cardstock, that has been distressed with Thistle Exclusive Ink.

Finally, I added just a few Silver Glitter Gems for embellishments.

Thank you so much for stopping by, before heading over to Michelle John's Blog, please consider leaving a comment and enjoy the rest of the creative talents in this month's Blog Hop! 

Seasonal Expressions CTMH New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the January 2019 

Close to my Heart 

Seasonal Expressions New Product  

Blog Hop!

There are 15 other amazingly talented Close to my Heart Consultants sharing their artwork with you for this month's Blog Hop. 

Should you get lost along the way, all participant's links can be found here. 

If you are coming from Debi's Blog, you are on the right track.

This month's Blog Hop showcases the new Close to my Heart products that were just released in the Seasonal Expressions 1 catalog.

The card base and envelope are from our White Cards and Envelopes Value Pack.
The first layer of the card is black cardstock.
The second layer is the blue patterned paper from the Something Fierce Collection.

The green patterned paper, also from the same collection is layered with black cardstock as well. 

I used a small piece of the zip strip as an accent from the same collection. 

I added a few loops of Silver Embellishing Thread to give not only some glam, but extra dimension as well. 

I used Archival Black Exclusive Ink to stamp the "Celebrate" from our Years of Sweetness Stamp Set that just released on Jan 1st. 
I stamped the sentiment on a sticker strip from the Something Fierce Complements pack, then mounted it onto the blue patterned paper and then black cardstock.
The Complements pack includes coordinating stickers and printed die-cuts.

The Years of Sweetness stamp set features 15 different stamps, and the Stamp images outlined in red coordinate with the Cricut® Artbooking Digital Collection (not included).

For a bit of texture, I used the Clear Shimmer Brush and added some sparkle to the "Celebrate" sentiment. 

Thank you so much for stopping by, before heading over to Darlys's Blog, please consider leaving a comment and enjoy the rest of the creative talents in this month's Blog Hop! 

Love of Color - CTMH Technique Blog Hop

Welcome to the December 

Close to my Heart Technique Blog Hop!

There are 13 other amazingly talented Close to my Heart Consultants sharing their artwork with you for this month's Blog Hop. 

Should you get lost along the way, all participant's links can be found here. 

If you are coming from Michelle's Blog, you are on the right track.

As mentioned in a post a couple weeks back, I love to use our new 

Love of Color How-to-Book to inspire my cards and layouts. 

This month's Blog Hop showcases how useful this book really is.

The book has several awesome features:

It fits inside our Everyday Life™ albums for easy and convenient transportation. 

It includes breathtaking artwork that illustrates how to create perfectly balanced color combinations, and has tons of patterns for cards and layouts.

This book is perfect for both new and seasoned crafters. 

It would make an awesome Christmas or Birthday gift!

I created this card, to showcase the color combination on page 10 of the book. 

The three featured colors are Saffron, Smoothie and Lagoon.

The card base and second layer of the circle is Saffron cardstock. 

The torn strip is Lagoon.

The layer of cardstock behind the strip is Smoothie. 

One of my favorite Stamp Sets in our current catalog is the Grateful Heart Stamp Set. 

It is perfect for Thank you, Birthday, even Wedding cards!

I used Versamark Ink with the butterfly from the Grateful Heart Stamp Set, to create a very subtle tone on tone background on the Smoothie cardstock.

I used Lagoon ink to stamp the "Thank You" from our Grateful Heart Cardmaking Stamp Set.

For a bit of dimension, I used Saffron Ink to distress the edges of the White Daisy circle. 

Thank you so much for stopping by, before heading over to Darlys's Blog, please consider leaving a comment and enjoy the rest of the creative talents in this month's Blog Hop! 

Sew What?! - CTMH Technique Blog Hop

There are 12 other amazingly talented Close to my Heart Consultants sharing their artwork with you for this month's Blog Hop. 

Should you get lost along the way, all participant's links can be found here. 

If you are coming from Michelle Loncar's Blog, you are on the right track.

I used all Close to my Heart products for my featured card:

If you have had an opportunity to see the Story by Stacy™ line of products, you already know how versatile the stamp sets are regardless of the project you are working on. 

For this month's "Sew What?" Blog Hop, I chose the Quotable Words Stamp Set for the sentiment.

The pink polka dot patterned paper and the gray houses patterned paper are both from the Central Park Paper Packet.

I used Black and Pewter cardstock for the card base and layers.

I also used Pewter Ink to distress all of the edges of the card. 

I used 3-d Foam Tape to pop the sentiment up for some added dimension. 

I used a Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen to add faux stitching along the top left corner and bottom right corner of the card, to give it a sewn feel. 

Thank you so much for stopping by, before heading over to Darlys Recker's Blog, please consider leaving a comment and enjoy the rest of the creative talents in this month's Blog Hop! 

Purposeful Plastic - CTMH Technique Blog Hop

There are 10 other amazingly talented Close to my Heart Consultants sharing their artwork with you for this month's Blog Hop. 

Should you get lost along the way, all participant's links can be found here. 

If you are coming from Michelle's Blog, you are on the right track.

As mentioned in a post a couple weeks back, I love to use our Cardmaking Kits to create layouts. 

These exclusive stamp sets coordinate perfectly with the patterned paper collection, as well as the supplies that come with the kit.  

For the Close to my Heart Convention a few weeks ago, I submitted a rather simple layout of my son Constantine when he was 6 months old. 

He is now almost 2. 

Here is a photo of the layout submission at Convention.

For the contest, I did not use 6 x 12 flip flap memory protectors, or any of the additional Pocket Plus Memory Protectors, however once I got home, I realized I wanted to add more journaling and an additional photo or two to my layouts in my album. 

When I take photos of my children at home, we almost always have a ton of photos. 

Using flips flap memory protectors or the Pocket Plus Memory Protectors is a great way to add just a little more space. 

They come in several different sizes.

I chose this layout to highlight the "Purposeful Plastic" technique for this month's Blog Hop. 

Here are photos of the layout in the album with the 

Pocket Plus Memory Protectors included.

I used all Close to my Heart products for the layout and the additional space.

The layout itself features the Fresh Air collection paper, and the products included in the 

Workshops Your Way® In My Heart Cardmaking Kit. 

The Picture My Life Cards that you cut apart from the paper collection were perfect for the Pocket Plus Memory Protectors.

In addition to the paper, and cardstock, I also used the pretty sequins pieces as embellishments. 

The "Memories" wording is from the Documented Complements.

This collection will be retiring at the end of the month. 

It is perfect for camping, outdoor, and masculine themes but also as you can see here, baby boy.

Thank you so much for stopping by, before heading over to Valerie's Blog, please consider leaving a comment and enjoy the rest of the creative talents in this month's Blog Hop! 

Magically Masked - CTMH Technique Blog Hop

As mentioned in a post a few days ago, I recently signed up for an Artist Trading Card (ATC) Swap on Splitcoaststampers. 

I've been a fan of the Splitcoaststampers forums for swapping for years. 

For the ATC Swap, there are 4 categories. 

They are Vintage, Disney, Shades of  1 Color, and Bugs/Insects. 

So I present to you one of the 4 Artist Trading Cards for the Vintage category. 
"Vintage Buggie"

I chose this artistic style to highlight the "Magically Masked" technique for this month's Blog Hop. 

I used nearly all Close to my Heart products for them.

The "Good Times" sentiment and the Volkswagon Beetle are from the

July Stamp of the Month "Highlight Reel". 

When you purchase $50 in products you can purchase
"Highlight Reel" for only $5!

There are also 9 other Close to my Heart Consultants 
sharing their amazing artwork with you, 
so please be sure to make your way around the entire Blog Hop. 
You are going to love this month's artwork!

If you are coming from Wendy's Blog, you are on the right track.
Should you get lost along the way, all participant's links can be found here. 

On White Daisy cardstock, I stamped the sentiment first, in Saffron ink. 

I then masked the sentiment and stamped each Beetle in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

I then colored each Beetle in with Copics. 

I mounted the White Daisy piece to a piece of Tangerine cardstock.

I then used Tangerine ink to distress the edges of the front of the card 

and mounted the card onto chipboard. 

Then on the back, I mounted a piece of Tangerine cardstock. 

Then used my ATC information stamp on the back on White Daisy cardstock. 

I also distressed the information portion of the back with Tangerine Ink as well. 

Thank you so much for stopping by, before heading over to Sarah's Blog, please consider leaving a comment and enjoy the rest of the creative talents in this month's Blog Hop!