Watercolor Blog Hop

Welcome to our Watercolor Blog Hop!  This month, 30 consultants will be showcasing some of the many ways to use watercolors in your projects. 

If you have come here from Gina'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!

This hop really pushed me out of my comfort zone.  I love seeing projects using watercolors, but I have only used them myself a few times.  I created two cards using a technique were you paint directly on the acrylic block, then push the block onto your paper. 

The first card was inspired by a layout on page 20 of the CTMH Seasonal Expressions mini catalog.  Three different watercolors were applied to a piece of watercolor paper using the technique above.  Once they were dry, I used the fun Dizzy Circles stamp set to create the various shapes.  This stamp set reminds me of my childhood at my grandmother's house.  She had a Spirograph set and I created countless designs using those different circles! 

The enamel dots added a fun little element to the card!  Those purple looking glitter ones are actually from the Blue Enamel & Glitter Duo set!

The second card started with a rainbow of 1" x 1" squares applied using the same technique as above.  The 1" x 1" acrylic block was covered entirely with watercolor paint!

The card overlay was cut from the Artbooking Cricut Cartridge. 

The little birdie and the sentiment are both from March's Stamp of the Month, Sunshine Birdies.  Shinhan markers were used make the images bright and vibrant.  The card was finished off with a little bit of white and gold ribbon, as well as clear sparkles.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my watercolor cards!  They were a little messy, but lots of fun!

 

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

C1610 - Dizzy Circles Stamp Set

S1603 - Sunshine Birdies Stamp Set

Z3132 - Watercolor Paints

Z2188 - Paintbrush Set

Z3122 - Blue Dots Enamel & Glitter Duos

Z1934 - Flamingo Dots

Z1853 - Aqua Dots

Z1752 - Clear Sparkles

Z3189 - White & Gold Ribbon

Z3168 - Cricut Artfully Sent Collection

Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape

Shinhan Touch Twin Markers - R140, Y49, G46, GY235, BG61, R11, & P83

CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy and Black

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.


Now "Hop" on over to Alyson'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!

March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Sunshine Birdies

Welcome to our March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month, 38 consultants will be showcasing the Sunshine Birdies stamp set.  This set is only available during the month of March.  It can be purchased for $17.95, or only $5 with a $50 purchase

If you have come here from Jennifer'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!

This stamp immediately made me think of these rainbow pictures from last summer.  We had a horrible storm pass through, complete with a tornado warning.  But after the storm, we had to most beautiful double rainbow up in the sky!  I used the Kaleidoscope paper pack and pattern 9 from the Make It from Your Heart: Volume 1 book, to create this layout.

 

A pink Fundamentals sticker, Faceted Gem from the Kaleidoscope line, Silver edged vellum heart from the Penelope line, and assorted clear sparkles combine to accent the upper left corner of the layout.  Though I've admired sewing on layouts for some time, I've never tried it myself....until this layout!  I love how it turned out!

The sunshine stamp from this SOTM set was perfect to peek out from the vellum clouds (from the Penelope complements).  The little butterfly (also from the Sunshine Birdies SOTM set) was stamped and colored in using ShinHan markers.

The lower right hand side was embellished using another Kaleidoscope faceted gem, along with Playful Puffies and clear sparkles.  The "Be You" sentiment was just perfect to place near this picture of my son being his silly self!

For the title, I stamped the "You are my Sunshine" sentiment, along with butterflies from the SOTM set.  They were colored in using the ShinHan markers, and the area was embellished with more Playful Puppies and Clear sparkles. 

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my layout. Remember, this stamp can be purchased for only $5 with any $50 purchase!  Check out the adorable birds and butterflies that come in the set - great for this new coloring trend!!!

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create this layout:
S1603 - Sunshine Birdies, March SOTM set
X7202B - Kaleidoscope Paper Packet
Z3085 - Kaleidoscope Assortment
Z3165 - Fundamental Sticker Pack, Whimsy
X7207C - Penelope Complements
Z3025 - Playful Puffies
Z1752 - Clear Sparkles
Z2460 - Pastel Peach ShinHan Touch Twin Marker
Z2455 - Light Orange ShinHan Touch Twin Marker
Z2459 - Pastel Green ShinHan Touch Twin Marker
Z2453 - Lavender ShinHan Touch Twin Marker
Z2464 - Tender Pink ShinHan Touch Twin Marker

CTMH Exclusive Inks in Canary
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy and Crystal Blue

 
All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

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

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 goes Baby-themed!

Balloon animals aren't only for birthdays!!!  Here, I used the elephant balloon animal to make these cute little baby cards. We've got a few friends who are expecting this spring, so I can't wait to send these out once their new bundles arrive!

The glacier version is a bit more "masculine" with the clean edges and the mini staples holding the twine in place.  The pink version is a bit more delicate with the scalloped edge and no staples (I just used liquid glass to hold the twine in place).  I love how the Georgie Patterned Paper and Whisper Paper Fundamentals create such dimension in this card. 

 

The sentiment stamp can be found in the sets accompanying the Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge.  This set is an invaluable tool for any cardmaker.  There seems to be a stamp for every occasion!  The sentiment here is actually two different stamps, so you can change out what you are congratulating the recipient for.

 

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
X7203B - Georgie Paper Pack
Z3128 - Paper Fundamentals, Basics
Z3102 - Fundamental Assortment, Glacier
Z3035 - Extra Thick Twine, Pixie
Z3039 - Extra Thick Twine, Glacier
Z2027 - Mini Stapler
Z1851 - Scallop Border Punch
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
Z3168 - Cricut Artfully Sent Collection
X254 - Cards and Envelopes, White Value Pack
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy, Slate
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Whisper, Glacier & Pixie
Retired Pink Puffy Hearts

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.

Life Is Wonderful July SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month, almost 50 consultants are featuring Close To My Heart's "Life is Wonderful" stamp set. 

If you have come here from Darlys Recker'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 elegant thank you note shows how versatile the "Life is Wonderful" stamp set is. There are several great phrases included in this set, but I really love the frame stamp. It could be used to frame a sentiment, as shown here, or to create a journal box, or even matte a picture!  

The flourish stamp was randomly stamped on the card base to create a background of swirls. The frame and sentiment were stamped on a piece of Colonial White cardstock. The clear sparkles were placed over the black dot in each corner to add a little sparkle to the card! This piece was matted in black cardstock, then attached to the card base using 3-D Foam Tape.  


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 Life is Wonderful card.  Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create this card:
S1507 - Life is Wonderful Stamp Set
A1125 - Thanks Stamp Set (Retired)
Z1752 - Sparkles, Clear Assortment
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
X1410 - Colonial White Cards and Envelopes Value Pack
Z2015 - Exclusive Ink Stamp Pad in Black 
CTMH Cardstock in Black and Colonial White
All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

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

 

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!

February Stamp of the Month - A Happy Hello

Febraury's Stamp of the Month is "A Happy Hello."  This set is normally $17.95, but can be purchased for only $5 with any $50 purchase.  This is a great deal for a very versatile stamp set!

Check out these beautiful cards featured in the CTMH Annual Inspirations Idea Book using this stamp set.  This first card uses a card base cut from the CTMH Artfully Sent cartridge, and the circles are backed with stamped images from the "A Happy Hello" stamp set. 

 

Notice on this second card that the butterflies are even embellished with the stamps!  When you first glance at the stamp set, flowers comes to mind.  But, there are so many more possibilities!

 

If you'd like to order your own "A Happy Hello" stamp set, visit my CTMH Website!

October Specials

October is my favorite month of the year.  The weather is beautiful, the trees are changing colors, apples are plentiful, pumpkin patches and fall festivals are tons of fun...what's not to love!  An added bonus is that I celebrate both my birthday and anniversary this month too!  I wish it could be October all year long :-)

Unfortunately, October only lasts for 31 days and we move into November, then December.  Close to my Heart is preparing us for those upcoming months by offering a Holiday themed Stamp of the Month for October.  This way, you will have your Holiday stamps in plenty of time to create tags, cards and layouts for December!  This stamp set is only available for purchase from Oct. 1-31!  The set can be purchased for $17.95, or only $5 with any $50 purchase.   

These images can be stamped alone or stamped onto coordinating Cricut shapes cut from CTMH's Art Philosophy cartridge.  Here are a few examples of the Home for the Holidays stamp set in action.

Once you've already earned your Stamp of the Month by spending $50, you will also get a free roll of chevron ribbon shipped with your order!  Such a fun added bonus for October!  Visit my website to place your order and take advantage of these great offers only available in October!!

September Specials

I know the month of September is almost over, but there are still a couple of days left!  CTMH has some great deals for this month!

The Stamp of the Month for September is Family is Forever.  This stamp set is valued at $17.95, but is yours for only $5 with any $50 purchase. 

Here are a couple projects made with this stamp set.

Also in September, if you purchase $30 worth of stamps, you get this special stamp set to commemorate 30 years of stamping with CTMH as well as National Stamping Month!  This set has 30 mini stamps that are great for accenting all kinds of creations!  There are only 3 more days to take advantage of this offer - a FREE stamp set!

Visit my website if you'd like to place an order and get your September specials!

ABC Blog Hop - Letter "D" for Door Hanger

Welcome to the Everything ABC's Blog Hop!

For this hop we are featuring the letter D. This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as their "D" element will be featured in their post.

If you have just hopped onto my blog, please start at the beginning at Linda's blog ~ Scrappy Therapy.

If you came from Jenny Gilbert at Jen's Creative Classroom then you're on the right track!

"D" is for Doorknob Hanger!  For Valentine's Day, I made these cute little doorknob hangers to hold a couple goodies for my kids.  They enjoyed waking up to a special treat hanging on their door.

I started by cutting out the doorknob hanger shape from page 25 of the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  I used a 12x12 piece of Cotton Candy Cardstock, so I selected the fit to page option on my Cricut.  This allows the image to cut as large as possible within your paper size. 

The cricut cuts little slits (score lines) into the image so you know where to fold.  Once folded up, I secured the flaps with my Tombow adhesive. 

Once all sides were secured, the hangers were ready to be decorated!  Just to give you an idea of size, the hanger is 3 3/8" wide by 7 5/8" tall.  The opening is just over 3/4" deep and is just over 3" tall. 

I decorated the back part of the doorknob hanger by stamping hearts randomly (both hearts are included in February's Stamp of the Month - only available until the end of February!!!).  I used ink to match the cardstock to give it the tone on tone look.  I also cut an extra heart out using Cricut just to enhance the strength of the doorknob cutout (after all, I am planning to stuff these with Valentine's goodies). 

The lower part was decorated by placing a piece of silver shimmer trim (this is essentially glitter tape - self-adhesive!) around the top of the opening.  I cut out a shape from my CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (p. 47) in contrasting color (pink for the red hanger, and red for the pink color) to serve as a backdrop for the fox image (also from the Stamp of the Month Set).  The foxes and hearts were stamped on White Daisy cardstock and matted using Slate cardstock. The entire image was adhered using 3-D foam tape onto the front of the hanger.  I also used my blending pen to color in the flower on the girl fox, and the nose on the boy fox (using the cotton candy ink pad). 

Here is the completed project - ready to be stuffed and hung on my children's doors.  While I decorated mine with a Valentine's theme, this image can be cut on any color paper and can therefore be made to fit any theme you can imagine!

I also created a little mini card to go into each doorknob hanger.  The card is the heart cutout card image from p. 26 of the CTMH Art Philosophy Cartridge (cut at 2 3/4").  I outlined the cutout with a Ruby heart cut from the same page.  The middle heart is popped up on 3-D foam tape so that it actually comes through the opening. 

Close To My Heart Supplies Used for Doorknob Hangers:
S1402 - February Stamp of the Month: Wild About Love
Z1799 - Sliver Shimmer Trim
3174 - Blending Pen
Z2173 - Slate Exclusive Ink Pad
Z2193 - Cotton Candy Exclusive Ink Pad
Z2170 - Ruby Exclusive Ink Pad
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
1514 - Tombow Adhesive
Z1686 - Cricut Art Philosophy Collection
CTMH Cardstock in Ruby, Cotton Candy, Slate and White Daisy

Additional CTMH supplies used for Mini Cards:
B1416 - Keyboard Uppercase Stamp Set
Z1911 - Stamp Set from Designed Décor Frame Kit (for arrow)
Z2105 - Black Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Retired Washi Wonders Hostess Stamp Set

All items can be purchased by visiting my CTMH website!

Thank you for stopping by to check out my "D" project.  Your next stop on our Everything ABC'S blog Hop is Cary Magnani at My Heart's Design.

Here is the complete lineup in case you get lost along the way :)
1. Linda Norman- Scrappy Therapy
2. Lauren Moore- CTMH Craftings
3. Michelle Battitori - Michelle's Handmade World
4. Catherine Nowak ~ Catscrapbooking
5. Jenny Gilbert - Jen's Creative Classroom
6.  Lisa Plummer - Flaunt Your Creativity
7. Cary Magnani - My Heart's Design
8. Shalana Glass - Scrappin with Shalana
9. Pam Trostle - Pam's Crafty Creations
10. Michele Pryor - Michele's Ink It Stamp It
11. Sharon Chapman - PaperFiesta
12 Anita Autore Cards and Coffee

February Specials - What Does The Fox Say?

 In case you aren't aware, foxes are all the rage right now.  It's the chicken or the egg dilemma for me - is the fox popular because of the "What Does The Fox Say?" song, or was the song made because foxes were becoming popular?  Either way, other than my kids singing the song....repeatedly, I haven't been too much into the fox craze.  Then I received my new CTMH catalog and saw the melt-your-heart February Stamp of the Month Set - all about foxes!  I may just be a fox fan after all! 

If you aren't familiar with the Stamp of the Month program, CTMH releases a new stamp that is only available for one month!  You can purchase the set at full price ($17.95) OR, if you place a $50 qualifying order, you can purchase the set for only $5.

The other CTMH February special is for the new embossing folders.  I've mentioned before that these are one of my favorites from the new catalog. Embossing adds dimension and texture to an otherwise plain piece of paper!  For every 2 packs of cardstock that you purchase, you receive one embossing folder for free!  There are 5 different folders - so now seems like a great time to stock up on cardstock!!!!

Visit my site to get your fox stamp set and or embossing folders today!