So Hard to Say Goodbye - Blog Hop

Welcome to the "So Hard to Say Goodbye" blog hop where we are sharing some last looks at products that are retiring soon.  For this hop, I am following Vickie ODell and am sharing this anniversary card.

The Love thin cut and stamps from D1646 - Finding the Words will retire at the end of July and the Prickly Pear paper is only available through August.  Be sure to place an order of your favorite Thin Cuts, Stamps and Paper Packets before they are gone!

Now head on over to see what Marie Flayer has to share with us.

Color Dare 251 - Enjoy Your Adventure

I've been away from blogging for a bit, had a crazy work schedule and then when it got nice out, just HAD to spend more time outside.  The CTMH convention was last week and they shared tons of ideas so I figured I should get back into my blog posts and share some of the fun products we have.

For this card, I a piece of  Prickly Pear paper and cut just the stripes I needed to meet the color challenge.  Then I embossed a piece of White Daisy with the confetti embossing folder and put that next to the colored paper.  The Uptown ribbon pack has this super versatile black and gold ribbon. For a title, I used the No Worries card making stamp set.

Color Dare 251

Check out Stampaganza where you can purchase two stamp sets and get one FREE through the end of July.

Live Beautifully - Together

May is National Scrapbooking Month and for this post, I am featuring a card made with the Live Beautifully paper packet for the special Color Dare challenge to use either the paper packet or the lovely colors featured.  I used a piece of the floral paper and the zip strip on the card base.  I don't have the coordinating stamp set so used a retired stamp that is similar and stamped on Pixie paper then layered on a piece of vellum to give it a bit more texture.  The "together" title is from the May Stamp of the Month and inked with Glacier; final touch of a few clear bitty sparkles and this anniversary card is ready to go in the mail.

Color Dare - Live Beautifully Challenge

Celebrate Card

For this week's Color Dare challenge, I made this card using some different techniques with the different colors. Start with a black and white mat from Some Kinda Wonderful paper packet. Then make a slightly smaller mat cut from White Daisy.  Use the end of a pencil and Canary ink to make a random pattern.  Then use a slightly larger circle stamp inked with Glacier. (Remember, you can use the smooth side of a stamp for this if you don't have the right size circle.) Then a little larger circle stamp using Juniper pigment ink and heat set with embossing powder.  Cut three titles from Thistle paper using the Celebrate thin cut and layer them together, really gives it a raised look.  The next photo shows that a bit better.  Finish off with a few silver sequins and this card is ready to go in the mail.

Thanks for stopping by, check out other entries in this week's Color Dare challenge.

Color Dare 244

Anniversary card with May SOTM

For this week's Color Dare challenge, I just had to break out the May Stamp of the Month called "Live, Love, Laugh" for a wedding anniversary card with these super bright and cheery colors.  I stamped LOVE with Raspberry ink and cut the letters apart then substituted a heart for the "O" and matted the letters with Lemon card stock and mounted them on the Willow patterned paper.  Next up, use a sponge dauber to ink with Raspberry, layer on the "together" stamp in White Daisy and heat set.  

You can purchase this stamp set for just $5 with a qualifying purchase on my website in the month of May or visit the Color Dare site to see more artwork for this week's challenge.

Color Dare 241

Way Awesome Card

For this week's challenge card, I combined the Color Dare colors and the CAS(e) This Sketch to make cards for a project team at work.  We are wrapping up a big initiative and I thought it would be nice to have handmade cards for each team member.

Close To My Heart supplies used with this card:

• Paper: Some Kinda Wonderful, Pacifica, Willow and White Daisy
• Stamp Sets: Ink Blot Flair and Beyond Awesome
• Ink: Raspberry, Lemon, Willow, Pacifica
• Cricut: Artistry page 50 for the title and outline shape
• Stripes Embossing folder (set paper at an angle in the folder)

Thanks for stopping by, if you don't already have a Close To My Heart consultant, check my website for these and other fun products.

Challenge entries:

Color Dare 240

CTS 218

Color Dare 239 - Thanks Card

For this week's Color Dare challenge, I made a fun Thank You card with the Flower Market Cricut Cartridge.  I haven't played with this one much so thought it would be good for this challenge.  I'm happy with how it turned out and can't wait to send it off in the mail.

Instructions:

• Cut a 4" planter image on Uptown Fundamentals paper using the image found on page 32 of the Flower Market Cricut Manual (cut off the bottom 2" and use it on a second card), wrap the container with slate/white twine.
• Cut flowers on page 24 from Eggplant and Canary paper at 2.25" and 1.5" (remember the keys are linked so you cut the middles at the same size as your flowers and they fit perfectly!)
• Apply Liquid Glass to the flower middles (that way, you can stay true to the color challenge)
• Cut "thanks" from a Thincut and White Glitter paper

Check out my website for these fun Close To My Heart products and much more.  You can also head over to see what other creations are available on the Color Dare blog site.

Color Dare 239

CTS 217 - Happy Birthday Card

For this week's CAS(e) This Sketch challenge, I turned it upside down and made a birthday card for our son.  I can't believe he's turning 25, it really doesn't feel like it! Where did the time go?  Anyway, back to the card, I used supplies from Close To My Heart:

• Artiste Cricut Cartridge - balloon image found on page 70 cut at 1.5" from five different papers including white glitter paper for a bit of sparkle
• I used a black marker to draw the balloon strings
• The title was cut at 1.5" three times and layered together before mounting on the card.

CTS 217

If you'd like to learn more about Close To My Heart products, visit my website for the latest idea books and products.

CTMH Technique Blog Hop - Vellum Makes Everything Better

Welcome to the April CTMH Technique blog hop which features vellum that makes everything better! I am following Haley Dyer for this hop.

My mom's birthday is coming up so I decided to use vellum on her card for this blog hop.  I started with a White Daisy card and stamped balloons with Raspberry, Sea Glass and Tangerine inks using the C1660 - Happy For You stamp set.  Then I stamped the outline balloons on vellum with White Daisy and embossed with white powder and heat set that.  I stamped the Happy Birthday title with White Daisy ink and heat set with white embossing powder.  Final step was to layer on a couple of strips of Sugar Rush paper to adhere the vellum to the card base.

If you don't already have a Close To My Heart consultant, you can shop my website and see all the cool, fun products we have for you.

Next up in the blog hop is Michelle Loncar, head on over to see what fun project she has created for us.

Color Dare 238 - Masculine Birthday

We are in prime time birthday season for my family and this week is no exception so I used this week's Color Dare challenge colors for this masculine birthday card. 

To make this card, I broke out my watercolor paints and used a splatter technique to cover the whole card with Willow and Peacock colors.  Then I did a basic wash with Willow watercolor on the left side of the card.  For the Peacock layer on the bottom, I used a sponge dauber with Peacock ink.

For the title, I stamped the "One in a Million" phrase on White Daisy and layered that on Peacock paper.  Next up was to cut a few circles out of Peacock paper and apply a few white sequins.  

Overall, I'm real happy with the results, it's fun to use different techniques on cards.  Thanks for stopping by, check out the other Color Dare entries at the link below.

Color Dare 238

CTS 216 - Happy Easter card

This is my first time participating in Case This Sketch.  I found this site when I was searching for inspiration to make Easter cards to send out to my family and this sketch was just what I needed.

CTS 216

I used Close To My Heart products for this card including:

• Whimsy Fundamentals paper for the stripes cut at 3" x 4.14" and .25" x 4.25"
• Crystal Blue paper for the title cut at 2" with the image found on the Flower Market Cricut cartridge on page 44 
• Finish with Sugar Rush dots 

You can find these supplies on my website if you are looking for a Close To My Heart Consultant or have questions, let me know.  Happy Easter!

Color Dare 237 - Happy Birthday

A friend of mine has a birthday coming up this weekend so I made her a card with the fun color combination in this week's Color Dare challenge.  I think it turned out super cute and can't wait to give it to her.

Instructions:

• Cut a piece of Thistle pattern paper at 5.25" x 4" for the background.  I used a piece of retired paper from the Penelope paper packet that I had on hand.
• Cut two pieces of White Daisy at 5" x 3.75"
• Cut out the "happy" thin cut at an angle and outline the letters with a Thistle marker. Stamp "Birthday" on the bottom right with Lagoon ink. I used a stamp from the Birthday Sparkles occasions stamp set.
• Sponge the 2nd piece of White Daisy with Lagoon, Tangerine & Thistle inks then apply Versamark ink over the whole sheet and sprinkle with clear embossing powder.  (See the picture below, it's hard to tell in the photo but it's really nice and shiny!)
• Mount the layers on the card and add a few clear bitty sparkles for a bit more bling.

Color Dare 237

Color Dare 236 - Happy Birthday

A co-worker of mine has a birthday tomorrow so I used this week's ColorDare colors on his card.  I started with a 5.5" square card then mounted a 5.25" square of Emerald Fundamentals paper.  For the top layer, I cut a 5" square of White Daisy and mounted a "Happy" Thin Cut on with repositionable glue then used a cotton swab to dab on the Pacifica and Emerald ink dots.  Peel off the Thin Cut and add the rest of the title elements.  I added a black arrow for a pop of color (and to make sure I had all the colors for the challenge.)

Thanks for stopping by.

Color Dare 234 - Pick your greens

For this week's Color Dare challenge, we get to pick any shades of green to use along with gold and white so I made this card for my mother-in-law for St. Patrick's Day.  I used the Sweet Leaf paper from the Whimsy Fundamentals pack as the background then layered on the gold stripes from the All About the Gold Fundamentals paper pack.  Next, I broke out the Flower Market Cricut Cartridge and cut out the fun cloverleaf from some New England Ivy green paper and the Lucky title that I layered on gold glitter paper.  Final accent is a green gem along with a stamped sentiment inside and I've got a card ready to go in the mail this week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Dare 234

March Stamp of the Month Tea-rrific

Welcome to the Close To My Heart stamp of the month blog hop.  The March stamp set is Tea-rrific and features a nice variety of 11 different stamps.  We have about 30 consultants featuring artwork using this fun stamp set this month and I am following Michele Rowley

To make this card, I started with a watercolor splatter on the edges of the front panel.  Then I cut a piece of White Daisy cardstock to 3.75" x 5" and embossed it with the Simple Chevron embossing folder. Layer that with a .5" strip from the Whimsy Fundamentals collection and a row of seam binding ribbon below that.  Cut a 3" circle from the watercolor paper and ink with White Daisy; heat emboss.  Double stamp the flower using Fern and Sorbet inks, fussy cut the pieces out and layer them on the edge of the card. Use bitty sparkles for embellishment.

I'll be using this as a birthday card so I used the masking technique for the inside greeting and a combination of stamps from this month's set as well as Wise Guy birthday.

Next up in the blog hop is Terrie Shortsleeve, head on over to see what she has created for us.

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Dare 232 - One in a Million Birthday

I used this week's Color Dare challenge to break out my new "One in a Million" stamp set to make a co-worker's birthday card.

Instructions:

• Add about 8-10 Lemon re-inker drops and alcohol in a spray pen then spritz on a piece of White Daisy card stock cut at 3.75" x 5.5"
• Layer on a piece of Fern fundamentals paper (this is from a retired paper pack I had on hand.) 
• Use the solid side of the paper on the bottom; tie with a piece of sapphire and white twine before mounting to the card front.
• Stamp title with Sapphire ink
• Stamp an accent row with Lemon ink; the "Way to Go" stamp set has nice options
• Add a few white enamel stars if you have them left in your stash on hand

Color Dare 232

Fundamentals Creative Collection

Welcome to the Fundamentals Creative Collections Blog Hop where we are featuring projects made from the paper collections in the CTMH Annual Inspiration catalog. If you are coming from Corinna's blog, you are in the right place.  This is also doing double entry for this week's Color Dare challenge.

I am getting ready to teach a Baby's First Year scrapbook workshop and the Whimsy fundamentals paper collection is perfect for this project.

Supplies used:

• 12" x 12" White Daisy paper
• D1660 Ink Blot Flair stamp set - ink with Pixie around 3 sides of the base scrapbook page
• Cut the banners for BABY from the Cricut Flower Market cartridge
• C1668 Baby Bundle occasions - ink BABY banner with Whisper ink
• 9" x 10.5" Pixie paper, ink Welcome with Pixie pigment ink and heat set
• Attach banner letters to twist tie (I used this from my retired stash) and mount banner on Pixie paper wrapping the twist tie over the edge so it sticks down.
• 2" x 12" strip of Whimsy fundamental paper with the Love words on it
• 1" x 6.5" strip of White Daisy and dove tail the end so you can add journaling details
• Stamp the stars with second generation Saffron ink and fussy cut
• Stamp the heard with Pixie ink and mount with foam tape for a bit of dimension
• Add photo placeholders and you've got yourself a fun layout to welcome baby!

Next up in the blog hop is Terrie, head on over to see what she's created for us or if you want to pause for some shopping and you don't already have a CTMH Consultant, check out my website at:

http://tammylubick.closetomyheart.com/

Thanks for stopping by.

Color Dare 230

Color Dare 229 - Hello

For this week's Color Dare challenge, I made this card to include with my customer orders that just came in.  I always include a card with each order, it's my way of saying "thanks" and allows me to try out new techniques or color combinations at the same time.

For this card, I used the Artbooking Cricut Cartridge to cut out the title found on page 59 at 1.25" using Real Dial Size on silver glitter paper.  Then I put that on black cardstock and fussy cut.  (I had tried it without the black but the silver didn't pop enough for me, it faded into the background too much for my taste.)  Next, I cut a piece of White Daisy at 5" by 3.5" and used the D1660 Ink Blot stamp set for the background with Pansy and Raspberry ink.  Notice the larger splash on the upper right of the card, I was looking for more of a watercolor look so I inked the stamp then spritzed it with water before stamping, how cool is that for effect?!?!  Finally, a little freehand drawing of the lines around the edges and a few purple glitter gems for more sparkle.

You can find all these supplies on my Close To My Heart website if you don't already have a consultant, thanks for stopping by!

Color Dare 229

Color Dare 228 - Happy Birthday

February is a big month for birthdays in our family so I used this weeks Color Dare challenge colors as inspiration for this card.  I used a retired Lagoon pattern paper for three of the squares and then embossed three more squares with the confetti stars embossing folder and sanded the stars so the white would come through. Next, I used the Wise Guy birthday stamp set and Raspberry ink for the cake plate and cake. I stamped the cake on a separate piece then fussy cut and mounted it with 3D foam tape, added a title strip with a dovetail end.

Thanks for stopping by to check out this week's challenge!

Color Dare 228

Color Dare 227 - Adore You

I was excited to see this week's Color Dare posted with the Sugar Rush colors to use as inspiration for a make-n-take card.  This coming weekend I am hosting a Stamp, Scrap, Craft fundraiser event for our local Blessings in a Backpack group.  I know I'm looking forward to a full day of crafting with friends.

Supplies used:

• Sugar Rush paper - 5 x 7"
• White Daisy - 2.25 x 6" (dovetail end)
• S1701 - Adore You stamp set - stamp title with Pomegranate ink
• Sea Glass glitter paper - .5 x 5.5" (dovetail end)
• Watercolor paper - 2.5 x 2.5"
• Watercolor paints and medium water brush - apply a two tone wash using Raspberry/Blossom colors on the watercolor paper and let dry, cut with Heart Thin Cut
• Stamp inside using Pomegranate and Whisper inks; adhere thin heart with Liquid Glass  

 

Thanks for stopping by.  You can find these supplies on my Close To My Heart website along with many other great papercrafting products.

Color Dare 227

Color Dare 226 - Happy Birthday

I took some time away from blogging over the holidays so am getting back into the swing of things with this week's Color Dare colors and made a birthday card for a family friend of ours.

The original design inspiration came from a card swap at the CTMH Convention last June; unfortunately, I didn't get the consultant's name who made the original with the Magical papers; if you happen to know who made this one, let me know so I can give proper credit! This was a quick and fun card to make to get back in the groove after the holidays.