Balloon Animals on Parade!

Just a little over a week left in February means only a little over a week to get your own Balloon Animals stamp set!  Here's another quick one showcasing a colorful Dog Balloon parade mixed with with the La Vie En Rose striped paper.

This was such a simple card to make!  The color combination and stripes make me think carnival!!  Black shimmer trim and bitty sparkles add a little bling to finish off the card!

Remember, this stamp set is only available during the month of February.  It can be purchased for $17.95, or ONLY $5 with any $50 purchase.  Contact me to order yours today!

Close To My Heart Materials used to create this card:
S1602 - Balloon Animals Stamp Set
X7201B - La Vie En Rose Paper Packet
Z3125 - Paper Fundamentals, Adventure
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
Z1263 - Bitty Sparkles
Z1809 - Black Shimmer Trim
Z3167 - Cricut Artistry Collection
X254 - Cards and Envelopes, White Value Pack
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Black, Honey, Cranberry & Pacifica

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Random Stamping Technique using Balloon Animals

Random Stamping is always a fun technique to create background paper.  After selecting 6 different colors to coordinate with the 6 different balloon animals, I just randomly stamped them until the whole page was covered.  What works best for me is to start with one image in the center (in this case, I used the elephant stamp), then radially work my way out to the edges!  The silver shimmer trim and thistle diagonal ribbon add a little texture to make the sentiment POP!

If you are a cardmaker, make sure to invest in CTMH's card value pack.  You get 50 - 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" pre-scored card bases and matching envelopes for only $14.95!!!  They come in both daisy white or colonial white!  It's a great deal, and a timesaver if you make lots of cards.

Remember, this stamp set is only available during the month of February.  It can be purchased for $17.95, or ONLY $5 with any $50 purchase.  Contact me to order yours today!

Close To My Heart Materials used to create this card:
S1602 - Balloon Animals Stamp Set
Z1799 - Silver Shimmer Trim
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
Z3167 - Cricut Artistry Collection
X254 - Cards and Envelopes, White Value Pack
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy, Pear, Gypsy & Thistle
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Pacifica, Pomegranate, Pear, Thistle, Gypsy & Lagoon
Retired Thistle Diagonal Ribbon

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Balloon Animals Card - Party! Party! Party!

I'm just loving this adorable Balloon Animals set for February's Stamp of the Month (SOTM)!  More ideas keep popping into my head!!!  This card was inspired by the talented Karen Pederson!  She used the text box stamp from the SOTM set to create a background for the card shown here.  As soon as I saw it, I new I had to try the technique.

This patterned paper from the Zoe line just screams PARTY!  Combined with the Glacier stamped background, the Coral Shimmer trim and the adorable yellow balloon monkey, a fun Birthday card was created!  Can't wait to send this out for a special birthday!

 

 

Karen Pederson really opened my eyes to a whole other world with her card!  I challenge you to look at your stamp sets differently and to use them in ways other than their intentions.  You might surprise yourself with something amazing!

 

Remember, this stamp set is only available during the month of February.  It can be purchased for $17.95, or ONLY $5 with any $50 purchase.  Contact me to order yours today!

Close To My Heart Materials used to create this card:
S1602 - Balloon Animals Stamp Set
X7197B - Zoe Paper Packet
Z3088 - Coral Shimmer Trim
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
X254 - Cards and Envelopes, White Value Pack
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy, Glacier, & Sorbet
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Canary, Sorbet & Glacier
Retired Coral Reef Sequins

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Balloon Animals - Simply Done

Here is a quick and simple card showcasing the February Stamp of the Month (SOTM), Balloon Animals, and some Paper Fundamentals scraps! 

I love how quickly this came together - the bright colors, the simplicity, and of course, how adorable is that balloon dog!?!?  The set comes with 5 other adorable balloon animals, as well as several sentiments.  Also, did you know that the red outline around the shape below indicates you can cut a matching shape using your Cricut?  This particular cartridge uses the CTMH Artistry Cartridge!

Remember, this stamp set is only available during the month of February.  It can be purchased for $17.95, or ONLY $5 with any $50 purchase.  Contact me to order yours today!

Close To My Heart Materials used to create this card:
S1602 - Balloon Animals Stamp Set
Z3125 - Paper Fundamentals, Adventure
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
X254 - Cards and Envelopes, White Value Pack
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy, Black
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Black, Honey

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

National Stamping Month Blog Hop

Welcome to our National Stamping Month Blog Hop!  This month, 40 consultants will be showcasing the Hello Life Stamp Sets.  These sets are only available during the month of September to celebrate National Stamping Month.  They can be purchased for $13.95 each, or buy all 3 as a set for only $34.95.

If you have come here from Jessica's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.  The hop is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!
Each of the 3 sets has a different "focus," traditional scrapbooking, pocket scrapbooking and cardmaking, but they are very versatile and can be used interchangeably.  All three sets were used to create the two cards shown below!  Many of the stamps also coordinate with shapes from the brand new CTMH Cricut Artistry cartridge!

The first card was made for my Father-in-Law's Birthday.  He is an avid golfer, so my husband asked if I could create a golf themed card.  The "grass" is made from the new Fern extra-thick twine, but unraveled!  This technique was used before on this Easter card.  The golf ball was "dimpled" by using the dots embossing folder.  And check out that cocoa patterned paper - part of the all new line of Paper Fundamentals!!!!

The second card is just a fun and cheerful notecard!  The "paint swipe" stamp is from the pocket scrapbooking set.  The 5 colors of ink gradually transition from light pink to orange, Pixie, Cotton Candy, Smoothie, Sorbet and Sunset, creating such a fun background!  That black and white patterned paper is also from the new Paper Fundamentals!  And the new coral shimmer trim is the perfect accent to finish off the card!

Here are the full selections offered in each stamp set.

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create these cards:

CC1040, CC1041 and CC1042 - Hello Life National Stamping Month Stamp Sets

Z3128 - Paper Fundamentals, Basics

Z3093 - Fern Thick Twine

Z3088 - Coral Shimmer Trim

X254 - White Value Pack, Cards and Envelopes

Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Z1924 - Dots Embossing Folder

CTMH Exclusive Inks in Pixie, Cotton Candy, Smoothie, Sorbet, Sunset, Black, Cocoa and Honey
CTMH Cardstock in Whisper White, Honey, Cocoa, Glacier and Black

  

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Now "Hop" on over to Donna's Blog to see her creation! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas for using these stamp sets! 

Framed Blog Hop

Welcome to our August Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month, over 50 consultants will be showcasing the Framed Stamp Set.  This set is only available during the month of August.  It can be purchased for $17.95, or only $5 with a $50 purchase.

If you have come here from Michelle's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.  The hop is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

 My Dad's Birthday is July 30th, so I wanted to make him a masculine Birthday card.  Masculine cards are something that I always struggle with.  Luckily, the Jackson Paper line makes it easy to create a masculine project!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my card. The "Framed" stamp set is extremely versatile.  There are 3 different frames, with 9 different sentiments.  You can mix and match to find the right combination for your occasion!  Remember, this stamp can be purchased for only $5 with any $50 purchase!

 

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create these cards:

Framed Stamp Set

C1561 - One Way Borders Stamp Set

X7195B - Jackson Paper Packet

Z1928 - Durables Triangle Studs

X1410 - Colonial White Value Pack, Cards and Envelopes

Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape

CTMH Exclusive Inks in Barn Red and Juniper
CTMH Cardstock in Juniper and Colonial White

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Now "Hop" on over to Kathy's Blog to see her creation! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! 

  

 

Operation Smile Rainbow Card (Take 3!)

For some reason, this Operation Smile stamp set keeps inspiring me to create rainbow cards!  If you missed the first two, you can view them here and here!

This card used up several pieces of scrap paper (mostly from May's Taste of Summer paper pack)!  The balloon was stamped on the 6 different colors, then I fussy cut them each out.  Fussy cutting and I did not always get along.  I used to avoid it like the plague.  But lately, I'm starting to understand how some people refer to it as therapeutic or maybe even enjoyable (I used to think those people were crazy!). 

The balloons are all popped up on 3-D Foam tape.  However, the top row uses the regualr 3-D Foam tape while the bottom row uses the thin 3-D Foam tape.  This provides a nice multi-layered card.  Here is a side view so you can see the difference.

This is such a fun stamp set, and helps out a great cause ($3 of the purchase goes to Operation Smile).  Here are all the stamps included in the set.

These are the CTMH supplies used to create this card:
D1653 - Happy Everything Stamp Set
Z3011 - Scaredy Cat Assortment
X254 - Cards and Envelopes, White Value Pack
Z2015 - Exclusive Inks stamp pad, Black
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy, Black, Pacifica and Cranberry
Taste of Summer paper pack, Retired
All supplies can be purchased from my website.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day!

Ice Cream Dream June SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month, we are featuring Close To My Heart's Ice Cream Dream stamp set. 

If you have come here from Chris Robertson's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.
This fun birthday card was created using the ice cream cone stamp from Ice Cream Dream.  The ice cream cone was stamped 3 times on white daisy cardstock, then hand cut.  Using the blender pen and exclusive inks, the scoops were transformed into strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream!   

The stamp set is available only during the month of June.  It can be purchased for only $5 with any $50 purchase. 

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my Ice Cream Dream card.  Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create this card:
S1506 - Ice Cream Dream Stamp Set
Z1939 - Paper Fundamentals, Basics Assortment
Z3035 - Extra Thick Twine, Pixie
3174 - Blending Pen
Z1849 - Shimmer Trim, Bronze
Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
Z3042 - Sequins, Coral Reef
G1095 - Workshops on the Go Blossom Cardmaking Kit
CTMH Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Black, Pixie, Cotton Candy, Desert Sand, Chocolate, Cocoa, Whisper and Lagoon
CTMH Cardstock in Kraft, Glacier and White Daisy
All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Now "Hop" on over to Tamytha Jenkins' Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas!

A Bit of Blot Technique Hop

Welcome to the Close To My Heart Technique Blog Hop.  If you are coming from Michelle Loncar's page, you are on the right track.  There are 11 participants in the hop today and we are all showcasing the "A Bit of Blot" technique found on page 55 of the CTMH Annual Inspirations Idea Book.

As shown in the picture above, this technique uses a sponge dauber to apply ink directly to a stamp block.  After lightly spritzing the block with water, you "stamp" the block directly onto paper.  I chose to create a rainbow effect for my project.  After lightly dabbing 6 colors in rainbow order across the large (4" x 5") block, I spritzed it with water and stamped on White Daisy cardstock. 

 

The background was so beautiful that I kept the rest of the card fairly plain so nothing distracted from the rainbow effect - just a couple stamps and a few silver sequins!!

The Happy birthday sentiment and arrow design are from the Happy Everything stamp set.  It's a fun set that is one of CTMH's Operation Smile stamps.  That means that $3 from every purchase of the stamp set goes to help Operation Smile correct facial deformities in children throughout the world.  Here is the entire stamp set complete with cute sentiments and a few graphics as well!

Close To My Heart Supplies used for this card:
Z2013 Sequins - Silver Assortment
D1653 - Happy Everything Stamp Set
Y1012 - My Acrylix 4"x5" Block
Z1912 - Corner Rounder
Z1380 - Spray Pen
Z726 - Sponge Dauber
X254 - Cards & Envelopes - White Value Pack
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Black, Whisper, Gypsy, Pacifica, Pear,  Honey, Sunset, and Cranberry
CTMH Cardstock - White Daisy and Slate
Above items can be purchased through my CTMH website.


Thank you for checking out my "Bit of Blot" creation.  Head on over to Belinda's blog to continue with the hop!

Blossom Cardmaking Workshop

Join me this month as we make a set of 3 cards using the Blossom Paper Line!  These cards incorporate bright, cheerful colors and fun embellishments to help wish a Happy Birthday to your friend or loved one.

The workshop will be held on Thursday, May 21st.  There will be two time slots available: 10:00 AM or 7:30 PM.  All materials will be pre-cut and ready to assemble.  Light refreshments will be provided. 

Space is limited, so purchase your kit today for only $5 to reserve your spot!  The RSVP and payment deadline is Friday, May 15th.  Please select the time slot that best fits your schedule!

Time Slot

10 AM 7:30 PM

Hopscotch Paper - Going, Going, Almost Gone!

Bad news first - the Seasonal Expressions ONE book is retiring on March 31st!  Many items will still be available to order, but anything with a little clock picture next to it means it will no longer be available after next Tuesday.  But, the good news - Seasonal Expressions TWO goes live on April 1st!!!  It is full of amazing new papers, stamps and embellishments!!!!

The item I will miss the most is the Hopscotch line.  The color combination is so bright and cheerful, and the designs are just plain FUN!  At last Friday's evening crop, several attendees created a card using Hopscotch paper.  The original design was a Birthday card featuring Hopscotch B & T Paper, Flaxen Twine, Smoothie Washi Tape and the Birthday stamp from the "You Mean the World to Me" stamp set. 

I always encourage crafters to use my card as a guide, but to make their project fit their style.  I love seeing all the different versions that are created!  My example is the bottom right card.  Whether they changed the layout, the sentiment, the paper, or even the orientation - they all turned out fantastic!

While showing the card, I was joking that I created a landscape card because my 8 year old daughter always gave me a hard time for creating portrait cards. Can you guess which card she created?  The portrait layout version!!!!  She certainly likes being different - and I LOVE it!

The "You Mean the World to Me" stamp set is one of my favorites!  It's right on point with the arrows, and includes such versatile sentiments!!!!  Check out the options you have with this set:

Thanks for stopping by to check out my latest creation! Here is a list of Close to My Heart products used:
B1467 - You Mean the World to Me Stamp Set
Z1923 - Smoothie Striped Washi Tape
Z3036 - Flaxen Extra Thick Twine
X7194B - Hopscotch Paper Packet
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
X1410 - Colonial White Card Value Pack
Black Exclusive Ink Pad
CTMH Cardstock in Glacier, White Daisy and Smoothie
All materials can be purchased by visiting my website.

Birthday Album Cover Page

This past weekend, I attended a semi-annual weekend crop getaway in Staunton, Virginia.  It is always an amazing weekend full of fun, friends and scrapbooking!

This trip, I focused on my son's Birthday album.  He just turned 5, but I hadn't even started on his album!  My plan is to have all of his Birthdays, from 1-18, to be in one album.

The cover page was designed to show how Cole has grown and changed over the years.  I placed my favorite 2"x 2" picture from his first 4 birthdays across the top.  I cut 14-2"x 2" squares from Pear cardstock to be placeholders for the remainder of his birthdays.  The squares are just attached with temporary adhesive so they can easily be removed when another birthday has been reached.  

The lower corner piece will stay permanently and was embellished with the Make a Wish stamp and white enamel stars.

To carry over the star theme, cricut shapes were layered in the upper corner.  With a little help from 3D Foam tape, this became a fun, dimensional embellishment.

The background paper, from the Confetti Wishes pack, fits perfectly with this theme of "Birthdays through the years."  I hand trimmed another paper from the same pack to get the celebrate and candle border for the title box. 

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you are inspired to create a Birthday album for someone you love!

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Supplies Used:

M1051 - Wish Stamp (only $2.95!!!!)

X7189B - Confetti Wishes Paper Pack

Z2010 - White Enamel Stars

Z1151 - 3D Foam Tape

Z2192 - Pacifica Ink Pad

Z1790 - Cricut Artiste Collection

CTMH Cardstock - Daisy White, Pear, Lagoon, Honey, Pacifica

All materials can be purchased from my website.

Doodled Designs Cards

The card Make & Take session we had at the Fundraising crop on January 10th was focused around the new Doodled Designs stamp set.  This set is in our Seasonal Expressions catalog (valid through the end of March).  I loved the samples that Close to my Heart created by using this stamp set, so I knew this would be my focus!  The set is $6.95 and includes the stamps shown below.  The sentiment stamps we used inside of the circle are only $2.95 each and are so adorable!!!

We followed one general design, but altered the colors and sentiments to create two different cards!  The "Make a Wish" card used a Pacifica, Topiary and Honey color scheme to make a fun Birthday card.  The "Hugs and Kisses" card used a Lagoon, Cotton Candy and Gypsy color scheme to make a fun Valentine's Day or Love card.

For both cards, we used a combination of cardstock, Patterned Paper, and a strip from CTMH's Paper Fundamentals line.  The paper in this line is double-sided.  One side has a pattern in white on color (see the Gypsy heart paper on the Hugs and Kisses card).  The second side has a glossy tone-on-tone color (see the Topiary lattice paper on the Make a Wish card).  Both sides are so fun and I love having the option to mix it up!

The cards were accessorized with a bit of bling.  For the Hugs and Kisses card, we used the purple glitter gems.  For the Make a Wish bling, we took the clear sparkles and colored them using the Vivid Green ShinHan Touch Marker (an alcohol-based marker with many uses).  When I learned about the possibility of coloring embellishments to match my designs, I was super excited!  I have also heard these markers work fantastic to color shimmer trim!

My 8 year old daughter has become a regular attendee at my crops, and always participates in the Make & Takes.  I encourage everyone to use my samples as a guide, but to make their design however they want.  Brooke ALWAYS thinks out of the box and goes her own way with her creations.  I LOVE IT!!!!  Here is her take on the Hugs and Kisses card (next to my original).

I took the general design of my card from a sample in the Seasonal Expressions catalog.  I changed it a bit to make it my own, but some elements are the same.  Comment below if you know what page the original came from!!

Here is a list of CTMH suppplies I used to create these cards:
A1170 - Doodled Designs Stamp Set
M1051 - Wish Stamp
M1054 - XOXO Stamp
Z2466 - Vivid Green ShinHan Touch Twin Marker
Z2032 - Paper Fundamentals - Adventure Assortment
Z1936 - Glitter Gems - Purple
Z1752 - Sparkles - Clear Assortment
X7189B - Confetti Wishes Paper Packet
X254 - While Value Pack, Cards and Envelopes
CTMH Ink Pads - Lagoon, Cotton Candy, Honey, Pacifica
CTMH Cardstock - Lagoon, Pacifica
Lollydoodle Paper Packet - Retired