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.

Simply Fundamental Workshop

There are only a few days left to take advantage of the November special, the Simply Fundamental Bundle!  The bundle includes an album of your choice, the Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Pack, Fundamental Stickers Enchantment pack, Peacock Fundamentals Assortment, 3 sheets of White Daisy cardstock and a Value pack of page protectors. In addition to all that is already included, CTMH has developed a 10-page layout that can be created using the materials included in this bundle.  They have provided full color directions on how to cut and create all of these layouts!  Visit here for more information on how to obtain this package deal!

I love how easily these layouts all came together!  I tweaked them a bit to fit the needs of my pictures, and embellished a bit more with some of the leftover stickers. 

The first layout features New England Ivy, Fern, Goldrush and Peacock.  This is the version that CTMH created:

Ironically, I chose horse pictures to use in my layout as well.  These pictures were taken at Keeneland Race Track in Kentucky during our summer road trip!  The journaling lines were done using one of the journal stamps in the November Stamp of the Month (SOTM), Cheers, 2016!

You can really see the tone-on-tone glossy pattern in this image.  One side of the Fundamentals Paper is this tone-on-tone, the other side has the same pattern in white.  The glitter hearts, bow and wooden element shown here are from the Peacock Assortment (included in the bundle).

 The next layout features a Ruby, Sapphire and Saffron color combination. 

I altered the size of a few of the pictures to fit my needs, but otherwise, kept everything the same.  Again, the November SOTM provided the journal lines for this page. This was such a fun and playful layout, so fits perfectly with the pictures from our trip to "The Beach" - a massive ball pit that was on exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. this summer.

There are so many stickers included in the Fundamentals Sticker Packs (also included in the bundle special).  I have a ton leftover to use in other layouts!

My good old journaling pen provided the black outline in the title box.  Such a simple trick to make the title really pop!

 Next up, we're featuring Eggplant, Sapphire and Fern, with accents of Peacock. 

I swapped the title stickers between this layout and the horse one to better fit with my pictures.  However, there were still lots of title stickers leftover that I could have used as well!  We visit these Fountains every summer at one of our local shopping centers.  The water is FREEZING, but the kids love it on a hot, summer day!  The journal lines on this layout were created using the Documenting Moments stamp set.

The stickers are great on their own, or look fun tucked behind a picture.  That peacock point sticking out from behind the picture is actually a much bigger sticker.  I cut it in half so that I can use the same concept on another layout.

The peacock glitter stickers come in four shapes (circle, triangle, star and heart) and a variety of sizes!  There are 165 total glitter stickers on one sheet!

 The next layout combines Pomegranate, Peacock and Saffron!

The peacock accents in this reminded me of the water surround St. John!  These pictures from our day at Cinnamon Bay fit perfectly in the layout!  The Documents Moments stamp set was again used to create the journal lines.

 I swapped out the title to fit my needs, and used my journaling pen again to pop the title box!

You can really see the glossy tone-on-tone pattern in this picture too.  Those glitter stickers look great alone, or clustered together!

 The fifth and final layout features a Poppy, Goldrush and Sapphire color combination. 

St. John had the best snorkeling I've ever experienced.  In addition to all the beautiful reefs, we saw several sea turtles and rays!  The journal lines on this layout were created using the second journal stamp in the November SOTM, Cheers, 2016!

Clustered accents and alternating the tone-on-tone paper with the white design paper makes for such a beautiful layout!

I love how this little scrap of the peacock paper behind the title box really pulls this whole area together!!

Again, I was amazed at how quickly these layouts all came together!  I was able to adapt them to fit my needs, but had the basic design to get me started.  Remember, there are only 2 more days to take advantage of this bundle.

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create this layout:
S1511 - Cheers, 2016 Stamp Set
D1647 - Documenting Moments Stamp Set
Z3126* - Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Pack
Z3164* - Fundamental Stickers Enchantment Pack
Z3098* - Fundamental Assortments, Peacock
Z1979 - Marvy Uchida LePen Journaling Pen
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy*
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Black
Items marked with a * were purchased through the November Special Album Bundle
All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Simply Fundamental Blog Hop

Welcome to our Simply Fundamentals Blog Hop!  This month, 27 consultants will be showcasing various uses of the Simply Fundamentals line offered by Close to My Heart.  They could be using the Paper packets, sticker packs, and/or assortment packs from the Simply Fundamentals line. 

During the month of November, CTMH is offering a special bundle featuring the Simply Fundamentals line.  The bundle includes an album of your choice, the Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Pack, Fundamental Stickers Enchantment pack, Peacock Fundamentals Assortment, 3 sheets of White Dasiy cardstock and a Value pack of page protectors. Visit here for more information on how to obtain this package deal!

If you have come here from Traci'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!

I paired the Adventure Paper Fundamentals pack and the Adventure Stickers Pack, with the November Stamp of the Month to create this New Year's Layout.  The sticker embellishments were so much fun to work with and place throughout the layout!

The "Cheers, 2016" stamp set was used to create the Happy New Year title, as well as the Honey stars in the background.  The mini alphabet stickers added the 2015!  Those strips of paper show just one side of the Paper Fundamentals.  The reverse side has the same pattern, but in a glossy, tone-on-tone print. 

More alphabet stickers, pennant stickers and little bars combine with the clock and star stamps to fill in the white space above the pictures!

The blue squiggled sticker in this section actually had rounded edges, but I dovetailed one end, and straight cut the other to fit the needs of my layout. 

The "Cheers" stamp embellished with stars stickers!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my layout.  Remember that this special bundle, including the Paper Fundamentals line, is only available during the month of November!!!

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create this layout:
S1511 - Cheers, 2016 Stamp Set
Z3125 - Paper Fundamentals Adventure Pack
Z3163 - Fundamental Stickers Adventure Pack
Z2060  - Thin 3-D Foam Tape
CTMH Cardstock in Kraft, Black and White Daisy
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Black and Honey
All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

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

Cheers, 2016! - November SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to our November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month, 37 consultants will be showcasing the Cheers, 2016 Stamp Set.  This set is only available during the month of November.  It can be purchased for $17.95, or only $5 with a $50 purchase

If you have come here from Katie'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 is a very fun New Year's themed stamp set, but can be used in other ways as well.  The "Dream Big" stamp really grabbed my attention and made me think of my son and his sports aspirations.  He has always been so intrigued by all sports and the challenges presented by them.  I found these pictures from when he was 15 months old, and thought they'd be perfect for this stamp set.  My son heard our 13 year old neighbor playing basketball, so he took off to their house and wanted to play with him.  He picked up the full-sized basketball and stood under the net and tried his hardest to make a basket.  He came nowhere close, but just didn't want to give up!  Even now, at 5 years old, he continues to enjoy the challenge of raising the basketball net all the way up!

The Urban Paper Packet and Complements fit perfectly with the pictures, and I just love the deep saturated tone of this Peacock cardstock!  The title was made using the "Dream Big" and star stamp from the Cheers, 2016 set, an arrow cut from the Artbooking Cricut cartridge, and letter stickers from the Enchantment Paper Fundamentals set. 

The "Yes" and "I Can" stamps, along with the Urban complements were used to embellish the focal picture of the layout.

One of the zip strips from the Urban Paper was cut up into several phrases and attached to the layout, then embellished further with the Urban complements.

One of my favorite things about this stamp set is that it comes with two different journaling stamps.  The one used here provides dashed lines, but there is also a solid line option.

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 all the awesome stamps that come in the set!!!

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create this layout:
S1511 - Cheers, 2016 Stamp Set
X7204B - Urban Paper Packet
X7204C - Urban Complements
Z3122 - Enamel & Glitter Duos, Blue Dots
Z3164 - Fundamental Sticker Packs, Enchantment
Z3169 - Cricut Artbooking Collection
Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape

CTMH Exclusive Inks in Sapphire, Whisper, Slate and Saffron
CTMH Cardstock in Sapphire, Peacock, Saffron, and Colonial White

 

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Now "Hop" on over to Michelle'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!