My Bunny Valentine....

Hi All! So I wanted to share a couple of quick little Valentines I created with Close To My Heart's February Stamp Of The Month: Easter Bunny.

Yep, you read that right. A valentine made with an easter stamp. Take a look:

I began creating these cards by stamping the bunnies on Kraft Cardstock using Desert Sand ink. (This ink color makes it really easy to achieve a "no line" effect when coloring on Kraft.) For the boy, I only stamped the bunny and then drew in the grass and clouds free-hand. I colored the whole scene using my Prismacolor Pencils. I then cut the panel down to fit on a 3 1/2 x 5 inch (4-Bar) white card using my Tim Holtz Stitched Rectangles Thinlit dies.

To finish the card, I've added a strip of patterned paper from Close To My Heart's Adventure Fundamentals paper pack layered over a scrap of Kraft Cardstock. I added my bunny panel on top of those layers. Then I stamped a heart from the Operation Smile True Love stamp set in Pacifica ink on a scrap of white cardstock and cut it out with my scissors. The "Valentine" is from the Say It All stamp set that comes in the CTMH Flower Market Cricut Bundle. The whole sentiment reads "Happy Valentine's Day," but I masked off the words and didn't need and stamped "Valentine" in Pacifica ink on a scrap of white cardstock and cut it into a banner. I added the banner to the heart with glue dots and popped the whole thing up with foam tape. I added some hearts from the Way To Go stamp set to the front in first and second generation Pacifica, and then used the same ink and stamping techniques to add the sentiment from the Easter Bunny set to the inside.

Here's some close-ups of the front and inside of the card:

I created the girl bunny card exactly like the previous one except that I also stamped the grass with Desert Sand ink using a stamp from the Easter Bunny set. You might also notice that I added shoes to both bunnies. It bothers me, for some reason, to have the images shoeless. I do the same thing with the kids in the True Love set.

Anyway, for the girl card, I used patterned paper from the Whimsy Fundamentals paper pack and Thistle ink for stamping.

Here are some close-ups of the front and inside of the card:

And there you have it! This stamp is absolutely adorable, and so much fun to color. You could also make a card that says "Somebunny Wishes You"...."Happy Valentine's Day." (It's on my list!) This really is a versatile set, and certainly not just for spring and Easter. 

If you're interested in the supplies I used on today's project, you can find images and links below. Hope these cards inspire you to think outside the box with your stamps!  

Have a wonderfully creative day!

CTMH February 2017 SOTM: Easter Bunny	CTMH True Love Stamp Set (Operation Smile)	CTMH Way To Go Stamp Set	CTMH Adventure Fundamentals
CTMH Whimsy Fundamentals Paper Pack	CTMH Kraft Cardstock	CTMH White Daisy Cardstock	CTMH Desert Sand Ink
CTMH Pacifica Ink	CTMH Thistle Ink	CTMH 3D Foam Tape	Prismacolor Colored Pencils
ATG Gun	Neenah Exact Index Cardstock (white)

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Rose Blossom Blog Hop: (Rustic) Home Together Is Our Favorite Place

Hi All! Welcome to the mid-August Rose Blossom Blog Hop featuring Close To My Heart's new Uptown and Rustic Home Fundamentals collections.  If you've just hopped over from Shelly Nemitz' wonderful blog, Just One Pretty Piece, you're in the right place. If you're just starting here, there will be a list of participants at the end of the post.

So this month, Close To My Heart is running a Buy 3 Get 1 free special on the new Fundamentals papers. So if you buy Whimsy, Adventure, and Enchantment Fundamentals papers, you get your choice of Uptown or Rustic Home Fundamentals for free. So we thought we would give you some ideas for how to use your fabulous freebies. Let's take a look:

Since this little home decor grouping is a actually three projects that I designed to work together, I'm going to spread them out over three different days. So today I'm showcasing the focal piece:

For this project, I took 3 different sized wooden frames that I found in the clearance section at one of my big box stores and up-cycled them using craft paint and papers from the Rustic Home Fundamentals collection. (I couldn't photograph the sides and back of the frames very well, but I used a woodgrain chevron patterned paper to cover them all.) I used papers from the Memo Fundamentals collection to cover the inside of the frames and then added strips of Rose Gold Foil Tape to the edges for a fun, funky look. Finally, I added different elements to each.

In the above frame, I created a focal point by adding a wooden $1 frame that I got at my local craft store, which I had covered with paper from the Memo Fundamentals collection. I added a piece of the woodgrain Kraft Cardstock from the Rustic Home collection to the middle of the frame and then popped a piece of Sea Glass glitter paper in the middle using foam tape. I then added Rose Gold Foil tape to the front and sides of the frame so that it coordinated with the outside frame. I added a 2-inch Flip Flap to the Sea Glass piece (also with foam tape) and then slid a piece of Kraft Cardstock in the Flip Flap to make it a little sturdier. When it was finished, I popped it up from the back of the larger frame with layers of chipboard.

Once the focal point was done, I began embellishing the rest of the frame using Sea Glass glitter paper and elements from the All Together Complements pack. I attached the Love and Together sentiments to the base with hinges made from Kraft Cardstock. I added some vellum pieces and stickers to the Together piece using glue dots and mini staples. I also added a little shimmer pen to the center of the flowers. 

The top embellishment is made from strips cut from the copper foiled vellum paper in the Rustic Home pack along with Sea Glass glitter paper. I added the So Very Happy sticker, the vellum heart, and the copper ampersand (all from the All Together pack) to the strips of paper with my mini stapler. I then looped strands of jute from the Rustic Home ribbon pack behind the embellishment and added it to the outer frame with Liquid Glass. 

Here are some close-ups of the embellishments:

And here is a close up of the side of the inner frame. You can see the Rose Gold Foil Tape on both the front and the edges of the frame.

 And here's a look at the whole piece once again:

The family picture is a selfie taken at Chateau Chenonceau in the Loire Valley of France this summer. That was the vacation where we realized that we really do prefer to be together as a family rather than hanging out separately. Even the kids commented on it!

Hope you enjoyed this little piece. Tune in on Wednesday and Thursday to see the other two frames. In the meantime, though, hop on over and see what the amazingly talented Morgan Vogt has for your inspiration at Tweetscraps.

And here's a list of the participants as promised:

Brenda

Lynn

Marg

Shelly

Kim {thats ME!}

Morgan

Cathy

Have a wonderfully creative day!

CTMH Rustic Home Fundamentals	CTMH Memo Fundamentals Paper Pack	CTMH Sea Glass Glitter Paper	CTMH All Together Complements
CTMH Rustic Home Ribbon Pack	CTMH Kraft Cardstock	CTMH White Daisy Cardstock	CTMH Cocoa Cardstock
CTMH Flip Flaps (2-inch)	CTMH Shimmer Brush (Clear)	CTMH Rose Gold Foil Tape	CTMH Liquid Glass
CTMH 3D Foam Tape	CTMH Mini Stapler	CTMH Non-Stick Micro Tip Scissors

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A Little Weekend Mojo: Thanks

Hi all! Happy Friday! Just wanted to share a little card I made that was inspired by this week's Mojo Monday Sketch.

So here's the sketch:

And here's my take on it:

For this 4-Bar note card, I began with a layer of Kraft cardstock that I attached directly to the card base. I then used patterned papers from Close To My Heart's new Memo Fundamentals collection to build the card front. I added a strip of this fun copper-foiled vellum from the new Rustic Home Fundamentals (also by Close To My Heart) along with a wood grained embossed oval of Kraft cardstock to the memo paper using my mini stapler. I then added a scrap from the Memo Fundamentals papers to the oval with regular adhesive. I layered a strip of Sea Glass Glitter paper and a bit of lace from the Rustic Home ribbon pack and stapled it to the card front. I added a button from my 28 Lilac Lane Attic Findings Embellishment Kit with a bit of jute from the Rustic Home ribbon pack to cover the staple. I cut the "thanks" from black card stock using Close To My Heart's new "Thanks" Thin Cut die and added it to the front with liquid mat adhesive. I then glued the front of the card to the Kraft cardstock layer on the card base. I finished everything off with sequins from 28 Lilac Lane's Pastels Sequin Tin and some liquid glass to make the thanks shine.

Here are a couple of close ups

I hope you enjoyed this bit of Mojo! Stay tuned for the Rose Blossom Blog Hop coming up on Monday. We'll be featuring the new Rustic Home and Uptown Fundamentals collections. You won't want to miss it!

Have a wonderfully creative and restful weekend!

CTMH Memo Fundamentals Paper Pack	CTMH Rustic Home Fundamentals	CTMH Sea Glass Glitter Paper	CTMH Kraft Cardstock
CTMH Black Cardstock	CTMH Rustic Home Ribbon Pack	CTMH Hello & Thanks Thin Cust Dies	CTMH White Daisy Ink Pad
CTMH Cocoa Exclusive Ink	Attic Findings Embellishment Kit (28 Lilac Lane)	Pastels Sequin Tin (28 Lilac Lane)	CTMH Mini Stapler
CTMH Liquid Glass	ATG Gun	Neenah Exact Index Cardstock (white)

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