Journey Two Page Scrapbooking Layout

Happy Sunday!

Here is an adorable two page layout of my son, that I created for the Pile It On! Lots of Layers Challenge. 

The two  12 x 12 base pages are Sweet Leaf cardstock by Close to my Heart.

I used the darker shade side of the cardstock.

The two strips along the side are from the So Much Happy Paper Packet. 

The strip to the right, has the Sapphire Zip Strip still attached for an accent piece.

There is also a piece of Sapphire cardstock from Close to my Heart. 

I used the darker shade see of the cardstock.

The Title for the layout is from the So Much Happy Picture My Life card pack.

The is one of the larger 6 x 4 sized cards.

The small green/blue circle is from the So Much Happy Complements pack.

I tried to keep the layout simple, so that the focus would really be on the photos and the message in my journaling.

I hope you enjoyed my layout!

I entered it into the following Challenges:

A Bit More Time To Craft Challenge Blog- #89 Anything Goes 

Crafting From The Heart- #240 Anything Goes 

My Favorite Color Is Green... Just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

I don't exactly celebrate St. Patrick's Day at my house, even though my husband is Irish, but my favorite color is Green. 

So for today's card I went with various shades of green, and colored this cute little girl with reddish blonde hair. 

The digital image is Glittery and Sparkling from The Paper Shelter. 

I used Watercolor Pencils from Close to my Heart to color her in.

The card base is Emerald Cardstock. 

There are various layers of Lagoon and Sweet Leaf cardstock as well.

The Heart Patterned Paper is from the So Much Happy Collection from Close to my Heart.

The little banner under the layered image is also from the So Much Happy Collection.

The yellow striped paper is from the  I Heart Us Collection also from Close to my Heart.

The sentiment is stamped in Lagoon Exclusive Ink, and is a retired stamp from Close to my Heart.

The edges of many of the layers are distressed with Sapphire Exclusive Ink.

To add a little sparkle, I added three Silver Glitter Gems.

Finally, the inside of the card is a layer of White cardstock distressed with Sapphire Exclusive Ink.

I entered my card into the following challenges:

Pile It On! Challenge Blog-Favorite Color (Design Team Entry)

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge- Feminine/Girly

Crafty Friends- #105 Ladies/Girls

Crafty Creations Challenges- #386 Anything Goes

Love to Scrap Challenge Blog- #119 Anything Goes

Artistic Inspirations Challenge Blog- #213 Anything Goes

Thank you for stopping by, have an awesome day!

Convention Swaps Are Underway...

I am so excited, in just a few weeks, I will be driving across the country again out west to Close to my Heart's annual convention. 

This year it is in Las Vegas!

I've been to Las Vegas, once before a few years ago, to visit my husband's family. 

While out there this year, I am going to try to spend some time with them again. 

If you have ever been to a Scrapbooking/Stamping convention, then you know swapping your handmade cards is a big deal!

Last time, I think I swapped over 100 cards. 

My goal this year is at least 50, but I am going to try to reach 100 if I can. 

So since I have such a lofty goal, I knew I needed to go ahead and get started. 

So this weekend, I didn't have much planned, so cards it is. 

Now some folks like to make all of their cards exactly the same, kind of like an assembly line. 

I personally like to make mine that way, but in small batches, then switch the colors, layout, etc. 

So today I am sharing with you my first batch.

I made 6 cards to swap at convention, and a card for a dear friend that is feeling under the weather. 

I used the One-Sheet-Wonder Technique, to create the floral print paper. 

The flowers, and leaves came from the stamp set Beautiful Friendship-Scrapbooking by Close to my Heart.
The cards are all based with the White Cards and EnvelopesValue Pack.

I used Thistle, Smoothie, and Bashful for the two-step stamped flowers and Sweet Leaf for the leaves.

Most of the cards, have the top panel of White Daisy, distressed with Pewter ink.

The "Life is Better With Friends"sentiment came from that same set. 

These were both stamped in Pewter ink. 

The "Simply Beautiful" sentiment came from the "A New Adventure" stamp set. 

This set is so versatile and definitely one of my personal favorites. 

I used our new Thin Cuts- Stitched Ovals and our Thin Cuts- Basic Ovals for the sentiment and them mounted it with 3-D Foam Tape.

These were stamped in Pewter on White Daisy cardstock, then layered on Bashful cardstock.

I used the Grey Gems to embellish a few of the cards.

For the card I am mailing to a friend, I used a layer of Bashful under the three panels of White Daisy I created.

The "A Beautiful Friendship" sentiment came from the "Beautiful Friendship- Scrapbooking" stamp set. 

Each panel was distressed with Pewter ink.

I will start working on my second batch in just a few minutes. 

As I create batches over the next few weeks, I will post them here on the blog to share them with you.

As always if you have any questions at all please let me know.

Lovely Layers-CTMH Technique Blog Hop

One of my favorite color combinations has always been a soft pink and navy. 
So I was absolutely thrilled when Close to my Heart released the 
Beautiful Friendship Collection. 
It has a gorgeous blend of pinks, blues and even floral patterns. 
While, we don't always see Sapphire flowers in nature, they are stunning in this new patterned paper pack. 

I chose this collection to highlight the "Lovely Layers" technique for this month's Blog Hop. 

Not only did I use one of our newest stamp sets to layer my flowers on my card, I also layered my cardstock as well. 
There are also 9 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 Darlys's Blog, you are on the right track. 
Should you get lost along the way, all participant's links can be found here. 

Before I share my newest card with you, I wanted to highlight the 
Beautiful Friendship Collection. 
There are several components to the collection including the 
Scrapbooking Kit, Card making Kit, Embellishments and more. 

Beautiful Friendship Paper Packet

12 – 12" × 12" sheets (2 each of 6 double-sided designs)

Featured colors: Bashful, Canary, Heather, Linen, Sapphire, Smoothie, White Daisy

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

The Sapphire cardstock is available in individual packs or with several coordinating colors. 

I used a layer of Kraft cardstock. 

Then a layer of the smaller flowers from the Beautiful Friendship paper packet. 

The little horizontal band across the card, is a layer of Kraft and the polka dot smoothie colored paper from the packet.

The circles are layers of Kraft, patterned paper and White Daisy for the sentiment space. 

The little strip of cardstock is Bashful.

The sentiment "Simply Beautiful" actually came from an existing stamp set "A New Adventure".

Which if you recall, I used on a cute space themed card in a previous post.

I stamped the sentiment in Sapphire Ink.

I used the layering flowers and leaves stamps from the "Beautiful Friendship" Scrapbooking Stamp Set.

The shading of the flowers was stamped in Bashful Ink. 

The detailing was stamped in Smoothie ink. 

I hand cut the flowers and leaves out and popped them up on 3-D Foam Tape.

I then also brush each flower with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

The shimmer is more noticeable in person.

The leaves were stamped with Sweet Leaf, and for those with the stems showing, they were stamped off, then the stems stamped with full ink.

The inside of the card has a layer of both Kraft and Bashful cardstocks.

Finally, I added just a few little pink dot embellishments from the Documented Dots pack.

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

Welcome New Baby Card...

So recently I have had several friends either give birth or announce that they are expecting. So I decided to go ahead and get a head start on my baby shower gift cards. 

Who says they always have to be pastel colors, pink or blue...

The main focal point stamp "Bitsy Bug Rosa" is from A Day For Daisies.

A Day For Daisies (ADFD) provides themed categories of over 1000 digital illustrations, including fairy tales and magical mermaids, cutie kids, vintage illustrations, sentiments and lovely designs for all occasions! 

ADFD WEBSITE: www.adayfordaisies.com

I colored in the design using mostly copic markers. 

I then also applied some clear shimmer to her wings and face, using the shimmer brush by Close to my Heart. 

The shimmer brushes are also available in gold and bashful.

For the base of the card I used a pre-cut and pre-scored card from the White Cards and Envelopes set from Close to my Heart. 

I used the "Blacked Out" technique that I love so much. 

The red cardstock is Ruby from the Close to my Heart Enchanted Cardstock Pack collection. The green is Sweet Leaf from the Whimsy Cardstock Pack Collection.

The smaller sentiment "Welcome Baby" is from the "Short & Sweet Sentiments" stamp set by Close to my Heart. 

I love this little set, it has so many great sentiments in one complete set, and it's an amazing value at only $6.95.

These are all of the sentiments that are included:

As a small bit of embellishment, I added two Sparkles, to the lower part of the card. Did you know that you can color them using your Shin Markers? That's right, since they are clear, you can color them any color you want. 

I entered the card into a few challenges:

Pile It On! Challenge Blog - #141 Think Small
Cardz TV- Anything Goes 
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Inside the Box
Crafting From The Heart - #200 Anything Goes 
The House That Stamps Built - #M2818 Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes 
Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenges - #1812 Anything Goes 
Simon Says Stamp Challenge  - Work It Wednesday 
Crafty Catz - #409 Anything Goes

A Cute Christmas Thank You Card...

Am I the only person who sends Christmas cards out and thank you cards for the gifts I receive? 

Here is one of the many thank you cards I will create over the next few weeks, to send out right after Christmas.

The adorable reindeer is from the digital image set 

Jingle Jolly by Pickled Potpourri Designs.

All of the paper is from Close to my Heart. 

I used the Cranberry cardstock, Sweet Leaf cardstock, and gold foil paper.

The "Thanks" sentiment is from the Close to my Heart 

"Feel So Blessed" stamp set.

I also used  the Sweet Leaf Ink pad to distress the edges.

I entered the card in a few challenges:

A Bit More Time to Craft - anything goes

Colour Crazy - anything goes

Craftaholics R Us - thank you

Creates and Makes - anything goes

Dragonfly Journeys - gratitude

Jo's Scrap Shack - anything goes 

Love to Scrap - anything goes
Pile It On Challenge Blog-Large Sentiments & Pickled Potpourri Designs

A New Thank You Card

Hope you all have had an amazing weekend! 

I'm so excited that the temperature has dropped some here in Western Georgia. 

It's still warm, but certainly cool than it was a few weeks ago.

Here is the cute little thank you card I created this weekend. 

I used the "thanks" stamp from our Feel So Blessed set, from Close to my Heart! 

If you purchased this set for $5 during September, then you already have it! 

I used Sweet Leaf exclusive ink for the sentiment. 

I used a few rhinestone bitty sparkles, to jazz it up. 

Then there're three layers of patterned paper. 

All three layers are from the Cats and Bats paper pack from Close to my Heart. 

The cobwebs layer, the orange layer and the letters layer.

I submitted my card to a few challenges this week:

Pile It On! Challenge Blog #135 Spiders/Cobwebs

Creative Moments #128 Anything Goes 

Jo's Scrap Shack Fun-Day Friday Challenge #210 Anything Goes 

Addicted To Stamps and More Challenge #263 Holiday

Sweet Stampers Challenge Blog #12 Autumn or Halloween
Cardz 4 Guyz #180 Halloween or Autumn

Beautiful Scales Card

Today, I get to share a simple yet elegant card I created using the 

Mermaid #3 Digital Stamp from IKEsART shop. 

Such a lovely stamp to color using my ShinHan Markers. 

The white layer, and the green layer are both distressed on the edging. On the white layer, I used the Blossom Mini Pigment Ink Pad. 

The green cardstock is Sweet Leaf by Close to my Heart. 

The "Just For You" greeting is from the retired Say It All stamp set by Close to my Heart. If you were fortunate enough to purchase it while it was available you will find it is so versatile.

Three Bitty Rhinestone Sparkles in the corner and that's all it took. 

I submitted my card to a few Challenges:

Pile It On! Challenge Blog #134 Scales or Feathers 

Jo's Scrap Shack Fun Day Friday Challenge #204 Anything Goes

Crafty Catz #382 Anything Goes 

Crafty Gals Corner #138 Anything Goes

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog #135 Anything Goes 

Crafty Creations #349 Anything Goes 

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Blog Anything Goes 

4 Crafty Chicks #366 Anything Goes

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog Quick and Easy 

Crafting With Friends #49 Anything Goes

One-Sheet-Wonder Thank You Card Set...

Since it's pouring outside here, what better time to stay inside and make a few cards.

I wanted to use the new Close to my Heart two-tone cardstock and two of my new stamp sets.

 

I made a set of 4 cards, each one slightly different but for the most part using the same main colors.

I used the Crystal Blue and Sweet Leaf colored cardstock from the two-tone Whimsy Cardstock Combo Pack. 

You will notice on one of the cards, I flipped the bottom strip over to the lighter side before mounting it on the card. It's just a very subtle color difference.

I used the new Delicate Flower Essentials stamp, to create the floral pattern. I essentially took the stamp and created a One-Sheet-Wonder with my Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad. Then I colored in just a few leaves with my ShinHan Markers. 

On two of the cards, I did some light sponging with the color Lagoon Mini Pigment Pad. This color is also available in our full size exclusive ink pads. 

The "Thank You" sentiment is from the Short & Sweet Sentiment Set. This set has 12 different sentiments, and is a great offer for only $6.95. 

The Delicate Flower Essentials Stamp is only $2.95 and will be available starting August 1st.


***My favorite card out of the group***

I also chose to enter my favorite card out of the group into a few challenges this week: 

Cute Card Thursday #487 Summer Colors

Jo's Scrap Shack Fun Day Friday Challenge #198 Anything Goes

Pile It On #132 Something Beginning With "S" (Sweet Leaf Colored Cardstock)