Summer Sizzle in the Rose Blossom Garden

Hi All! It's time to play in the Rose Blossom Garden! This month's challenge is a summer theme using the new Close To My Heart Artbooking Cricut Cartridge. Here's my take:

So I started with a frame that I found at my local craft store in the "scratch & dent" clearance section. I covered it using paper from the Surf's Up paper pack, and inked around the edges using Lagoon Exclusive ink. I then cut my elements using the Artbooking cartridge. I'll explain each with it's close up picture. The sand is cut from Surf's Up paper and the CTMH Brown & Tan glitter paper. I cut a 2-inch wide strip from each paper and then cut them in half in a wave pattern. I used dimensional adhesive to give  it depth.

Now let's take a look at the elements up close and personal: 

I cut the sun (p. 53) at 3 inches (real dial size) from Honey and Sunset cardstocks, and sponged the edges using Sunset Exclusive ink. For the center, I cut a 1 1/2-inch circle from Sunset cardstock and a 1 1/4-inch circle from Sorbet cardstock. I stamped the sentiment (from the Chantilly Workshop On The Go) on the smaller circle and used Sunset ink for both the sentiment and edges of the two circles. I layered the rays and offset the Honey just a bit. (I only glued the center so that I could get some dimension between the layers. I glued the larger of the two circles to the of the sun and popped the sentiment up with dimensional adhesive. I added some yellow Stickles to the sun for added sparkle.

I cut the umbrella (p.52) and palm tree (p. 67) at 7 inches (do NOT use real dial size). The base and one  layer of the umbrella is cut from White Daisy cardstock and edged with Silver and Stardust Glitz. For the paper piecing, I cut out 2 different layers of the umbrella from Surf's Up paper and pieced it in. For the palm tree, I cut two layers from Topiary and Pear cardstocks, and inked the edges of both with Topiary Exclusive ink. The coconuts are from the new Mini Medley Rosewood Collection.

The sign base is just scraps of Whisper cardstock to which I added some wood grain texture with the dark Whisper marker. I then lightly sponged over the whole sign with White Daisy ink to give it a weathered look. "Paradise" (p. 52) is cut at 6 inches (do NOT use real dial size). I removed the flagged end and used two bitty brown pearls as "nails."

Finally, the clouds are also cut from Surf's Up paper. I actually used the snowman icon (p. 77) cut at 7 inches (again, NOT real dial size) and then cut in half. I inked the edges in Sky Exclusive ink and popped one of the clouds up with dimensional adhesive.

And that's it! Hope you enjoyed a last little summer sizzle! Don't forget to hop back over to the Rose Blossom Garden for more summer inspiration. We would love to have you play along!