Seasonal Expressions #2 - Blog Hop

This blog hop is featuring  products in Close To My Heart's recently released  Seasonal Expressions Idea Book/Catalogue #2- whatever season you are experiencing in your life - birthdays, holidays, anniversaries...you are in the right place to find the perfect artistic tool for preserving and celebrating your memories. The Seasonal Expressions products debuted on the 1st April and are available right through until the 31st March 2015.
 

If you have come here from Tracey Pierce's Blog  you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here...with me 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 – simply click here.

 

This month we have over 40 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations featuring these new products combined with other wonderful Close To My Heart products on their blogs. Be sure to check out all the fabulous art work they have to share - just click on the link at the end of this post to begin the journey!

The Seasonal Expressions is jammed pack with so many adorable goodies that I found it difficult to decide which one to feature today. However, being a huge fan of Mini Albums and an Embellishment addict! I thought I would combine my love of both.

Two new Mini Albums were introduced this month - the My Creations™ Mini Folio and the My Creations™ Mini Mix Album.The Mini Mix Album is a cute album that includes a mix of vellum, white cardstock, and kraft (4" x 4") pages with a white chipboard cover. I thought it would make a lovely birthday gift for my BFF and set about pre-decorating the pages in readiness to add photos.

The cover was decorated with papers from the Blossom Paper Pack, a title... cut from the font included with the Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection, some Oceanside & Coral Reef Sequins... then some of the gorgeous new metal/enamel pieces from the Blossom Assortment were added to the cover design to give it that perfect finishing touch!!

One of my favourite products released in the new Seasonal Expressions is the Carnival Washi Tape Pack - it contains 3 rolls of washi tape including a label based tape with 8 different sentiments making them ideal to cut, trim and alter for a variety of projects... again, perfect for my Friendship Mini Album!

For these pages I also "tore" one of the vellum pages from the album and cut to size to use as a journaling or photo mat. The little heart shape is also from one of the newly released embellishment packs - the Bubbly Enamel Shapes. I used more of the Carnival Washi Tape label sentiments along with some Blossom Complements stickers and sequins to decorate some of the other pages in this album.

I'd love to show you more pages in this album but I don't want to spoil all the surprises for my friend!! - I hope you have enjoyed these little "sneek" peaks"?!

Thanks for visiting my blog and if you haven't already been there or started from the very beginning of this blog hop?? -  now is the time to "Hop" on over to the lovely Catherine Nowak's Blog  to see what she has created...and don't forget to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to check out some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! 

February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

 

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

 

We are featuring February's Stamp of the Month - called A Happy Hello...it is jammed packed with 15 individual stamp images.  If you have come here from Tracey Pierce's blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here with me 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 - simply click here.

This month we have 68  Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations featuring the Stamp of the Month combined with lots of other wonderful Close To My Heart products. Be sure to check out all the fabulous art work everyone has to share - just click on the link at the end of this post to begin the journey!

 

I'm a huge fan of the Stamp of the Month concept and the stamp sets on offer...  not only can you purchase them at a discount price but they are some of the most versatile sets you will find in the Close To My Heart range and this set is no exception.

 

 As you travel through this blog hop you will certainly discover that this set is a "must have" for exactly that reason! To highlight this, I have created 2 cards one with a contemporary feel and the other a little on the shabby chic side.

 

 

For my first card I created a "splattered" background onto some White Daisy Cardstock with Cotton Candy , Sunset and Hollyhock inks and built the card design from there. The floral images from the stamp set were also stamped in this ink combination and then fussy cut with some slight alteration to the original image shape. The centre of each floral image was then embellished with Black Epoxy Bubbles. The geometric border was created using the Triangle Border Punch.

 

The Shabby Chic style card was created combining the Stamp of the Month - A Happy Hello with the Amour Stamp Set that can be found in the Seasonal Expressions idea book/catalogue. Using my beloved Deluxe Trimmer !!!...  I created a tag shape and used it as a base to build my stamped images onto. The leaves were all stamped in Juniper Ink and the floral shapes in Cotton Candy Ink and then cut with another of my all time favourite tools - Micro-Tip Scissors... and pieced together and adhered to the tag/card using Bonding Memories Glue Pen.

 

Thanks for visiting my blog and taking a "peek" at my card projects..... and if you haven't already been there?? -  now is the time to "Hop" on over to Angela White's  blog and see the art work she has created for you... don't forget to visit all the other Consultants at their blogs to view some great crafting inspiration and fun ideas! Remember, the Stamp of the Month is only available until the end of February!  Contact your Close To My Heart Consultant (or click here) to see how you can purchase this stamp set and receive a discount!....order now and create your own floral masterpieces.

January Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!
 

We are featuring January's Stamp of the Month - called This Moment...it is jammed packed with 12 individual stamp images.  If you have come here from Lilian Yeh's blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here... with me 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 - simply click here.

This month we have over 60  Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations featuring this month's Stamp of the Month combined with lots of other wonderful Close To My Heart products. Be sure to check out all the fabulous art work everyone has to share - just click on the link at the end of this post to begin the journey!

 

 

While the sentiments and images featured in this month's Stamp of the Month may primarily have you thinking of all things love and romance.... they showcase so much more versatility than that...and with that in mind, I decided to share 2 very different cards with you - one that follows the theme of love and this card that takes the path of something a little more generic.

 

For this card design, I used the large circle (target) image to create a form of scallop edging. I stamped multiple images with Hollyhock Ink then fussy cut each one using my all-time favourite Micro-Tip Scissors. The images were then cut in half and arranged across the centre of the card. The "Hello" sentiment was then stamped in Lagoon Ink and placed across the circle/scallop arrangement. This scallop arrangement makes quite a bold statement, therefore I decided to keep the card design fairly clean and simple, with just a little added sparkle.... in the form of 2 thin strips of Teal Glitter Paper and a single red heart from the Stuck on You Puffies.

My daughter thinks the scallop arrangement created with the stamped circle images resembles a Celtic Knot in it's appearance - what do you think??

My second card features not only the This Moment - Stamp of the Month but also many of the "heart" related Close To My Heart products - the Heartstrings paper pack, complement stickers and assortment embellishments, the Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Assortment and Lagoon Heart Washi Tape. They all compliment this project beautifully. The Lagoon coloured arrows and  Ruby "Straight from the Heart" sentiment are also fussy cut stamped images...I love how precise my trusty Micro-Tip Scissors helps me cut!! The scallop border on this card was created by using another favourite tool of mine - the Scallop Border Punch

Thanks for visiting my blog and taking a "peek" at my card projects..... and if you haven't already been there?? -  now is the time to "Hop" on over to Angela White's  blog and see the art work she has created for you... don't forget to visit all the other Consultants at their blogs to view some great crafting inspiration and fun ideas! Remember, the Stamp of the Month is only available until the 31st of January!  Contact your Close To My Heart Consultant (or click here) to see how you can purchase this stamp set and receive a discount!....order now and receive it in time to complete your Valentine Day Projects!

Seasonal Expressions #1 - Blog Hop

Welcome to our Seasonal Expressions #1 Blog Hop! 

 

This blog hop is featuring  products in Close To My Heart's "inaugural & brand spanking new"  Seasonal Expressions Idea Book/Catalogue - whatever season you are experiencing in your life - birthdays, weddings, anniversaries...you are in the right place to find the perfect artistic tool for preserving and celebrating your memories. The Seasonal Expressions products debuted on the 1st Dec and are available right through until the 31st March 2015.

If you have come here from Lauren Moore's Blog  you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here...with me 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 – simply click here.

 

This month we have almost 40 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations featuring these new products combined with other wonderful Close To My Heart products on their blogs. Be sure to check out all the fabulous art work they have to share - just click on the link at the end of this post to begin the journey!

 

The Seasonal Expressions is jammed pack with so many adorable goodies that I found it difficult to decide which one to feature today. However, being a huge fan of the Picture My Life™ collections I decided to show you just how great and versatile these collections are. The new Picture My Life™ Heartstrings Program is a condensed version of the previous collections containing 20 – 4" × 6" Cards (2 each of 10 designs) and 36 – 3" × 4" Cards (2 each of 18 designs). While the cards are designed for pocket style scrapbooking the condensed collection does not include Memory Protectors which of course reduces the cost. The cards are an ideal accompaniment for traditional scrapbook layouts, card making and papercraft creations....and packaged this way provides ease of use for these type of projects.

 

 I used 3 of the 3" x 4" inch cards in this layout (commemorating our 32nd Wedding Anniversary) that was subsequently framed within the Designed Decor Black Shadow Box. One was used as the title, I cut a heart shaped embellishment from another, then resized the third, cutting it into a narrower shape and rounding the corners with the Corner Rounder tool. This layout was created using a variety of new papers and embellishments along with die cut shapes and an additional title from the Cricut® Artbooking Collection. The diamond look sparkle seen in this layout is White Shimmer Trim , one of 2 new additions to the Shimmer Trim range.

I created the card below with one of the 3" x 4" cards and a resized 4" x 6" from the Picture My Life Heartstring Scrapbooking Program combined with papers from the Heartstrings Paper Pack. I love how the new Seasonal Expressions products co-ordinate with existing products from the Annual Inspirations Idea Book/Catalogue. The cute Stuck on You Puffies, Brushed Flower Assortment and Aqua Dots worked a treat all mixed together. This card was finished off with some faux stitching done with the Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journalling Pen.

Thanks for visiting my blog and if you haven't already been there?? -  now is the time to "Hop" on over to the lovely Lela Norris's Blog  to see what she has created...and don't forget to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to check out some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! 

 

 

December Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! 

We are featuring December's Stamp of the Month - called Cutie Pie...a  super sweet set of 11 stamps.  If you have come here from Jacquelin Green's blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here - with me 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 - simply click here.

This month we have over 60  Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations featuring this month's Stamp of the Month combined with lots of other wonderful Close To My Heart products. Be sure to check out all the fabulous art work everyone has to share - just click on the link at the end of this post to begin the journey!

I am very excited to be participating in this blog hop group for the very first time...so much so, that I thought I would share "not one but two" cards with you...and "not one but two" new paper packs - Heartstrings and Hopscotch ... that have just been released today!

I have used the same card design for both cards and coloured my cupcake images with ShinHan Touch Twin Markers. I stamped multiple cupcake images on White Daisy Cardstock with both Archival Black Ink and VersaMark Ink  ( combined with White Embossing Powder ) then fussy cut the different sections of the images with Micro-Tip Scissors. These individual sections were then pieced and layered together on the card using Bonding Memories Glue.

Card #1 - ShinHan Touch Twin Markers - Colours Used:
 
Cherry Pink -  Z2450
Tender Pink - Z2464
Turquoise Blue - Z2465

Peacock Green - Z2461
Warm Grey 4 - Z2467

Warm Grey 7 - Z2468
Light Orange -  Z2455
Barely Beige -  Z2445
Colorless Blender Marker -  Z2469

This next version of the card design uses 3-D Foam Tape behind the sentiment panel and the cupcake image to add a little more variation and dimension.

 

Card #2 - ShinHan Touch Twin Markers - Colours Used:

Cherry Pink -  Z2450
Tender Pink - Z2464
Turquoise Blue - Z2465
Light Orange - Z2455
Barely Beige - Z2445
Pastel Green - Z2459

Pastel Peach - Z2460
Colorless Blender Marker - Z2469

 

This is the sketch I used for the card design which was just perfect for the great smile phrase/sentiment in the Cutie Pie stamp set.

 

Thanks for visiting my blog and if you haven't already been there?? -  now is the time to "Hop" on over to the lovely Adeline Brill's  blog to see what she has created... and don't forget to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to check out some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Remember, the Cutie Pie Stamp of the Month is only available until the 31st of December!  Contact your Close To My Heart Consultant (or click here) to see how you can purchase this stamp set and receive a discount!....this is one set you will most certainly want in your crafting collection!