Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share Day 3: Not Just for Valentine's Day

Celebrating Close To My Heart's January Stamp Of The Month: Happy Valentine's Day

Hi All! Welcome to Day 3 of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share for the January SOTM: Happy Valentine's Day. I hope you've been inspired over the last few days!

So today, I wanted to show how versatile this stamp can be, so I used it in conjunction with the Avonlea Card Workshop On The Go stamp set. (That set will also retire at the end of the month, so you want to act quickly to get it!)

This A2 card was made with Whisper cardstock and stamped in Whisper Exclusive Ink using the small rose image. I cut a piece of Lagoon cardstock 1-inch smaller than the base (which makes it 4 1/2 x 3 1/4 inches) and again used the tone-on-tone stamping technique with Lagoon Exclusive Ink. The White Daisy cardstock layer is cut at 3 inches square. The sentiment and edge stamps are from the Avonlea Card Workshop On The Go, and are stamped in Ruby Exclusive Ink. It seemed a little bare, so I added a rose in the corner in Whisper Exclusive Ink. Finally, I used small and medium Opaque Pearl Gems to add a little elegance and Color-Ready Seam Binding for texture.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I hope you have enjoyed our Kraft-y Heart Blog Share and are inspired to go out and create something beautiful today. Remember, the Happy Valentine's Day stamp set and the Avonlea Card Workshop On The Go are only available through 31 January. If you are interested in purchasing either or both, visit me here.

Now hop on over to From My Bungalow to be inspired by the über-talented Kraft-y girl, Lynn Darda!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 12

Wow! This is the last day for the Kraft-y Hearts 12 Days Blog Share, which means it is also 12/12/12!
The blog candy winner will be drawn tonight, so make sure to leave a comment on this post or any of the past 12 days to be entered to win a Capture the Date stamp set and a Chocolate Exclusive Ink dye ink pad. Even bigger than that, though, (yes, it's possible) my niece Molly turns 18 today! Happy Birthday, Molly!

Now onto our final 12 Days project.

The frame is from the dollar bin at my local craft store. I covered the front of it using patterned paper from the Avonlea collection, and the back is covered in Slate cardstock.  I sanded down the edges and inked them in Slate Exclusive ink. I then applied a layer of Silver Shimmer Trim to finish it off.

The paper is so beautiful, it really didn't need much embellishing. I simply clustered some elements together from the Mini Medley Accents (slate) collection, along with Satin Slate Polka Dot ribbon and a little bit of Black Tulle ribbon. I added a large pearl to the center of the ribbon and various sizes of Opaques Licorice Adhesive Gems around the edges. (And though it will be covered by a picture, I went ahead and covered the photo insert just to make it a little more complete.)

Here are some close-ups:

And here is one last photo of the whole frame:

I hope you've enjoyed the last 12 days with the Kraft-y Hearts. We've had a lot of fun sharing with you. Don't forget to stop by From My Bungalow for some beautiful inspiration (and more blog candy) by my über-Kraft-y friend, Lynn Darda.

Kraft-y Hearts' September Blog Share Part 2

Celebrating Close To My Heart's September Stamp Of The Month

Hello All! Welcome to Day 2 of the Kraft-y Heart's Blog Share. If you haven't been there already, don't forget to stop by From My Bungalow to see what beautiful things Lynn Darda has dreamed up to inspire us!

Today's project here at Violets & Sunshine is a little home decor piece I came up with for the fall.

I found a couple of these frames at Ikea for $1.99, and couldn't resist a little altering. I used Avonlea paper for the background and to cover the mat (that came with the frame) to add a little dimension. I stamped the scarecrow, pumpkins, bird and fence in Chocolate exclusive ink on Colonial White cardstock. I colored everything with my trusty watercolor pencils and cut out all the images. (Love that cutting knife!)

Here are a couple of  close-ups of the coloring detail:

"the patch" is stamped directly onto the background in Chocolate ink.

The "welcome" flags are cut from Kraft cardstock and inked around the edges with Chocolate exclusive ink and Autumn Terracotta pigment ink from the Enchantment set. The letters are from the Lots of Dots alphabet, which has been retired from the CTMH Irrisitibles collection. However, you could easily substitute the new Irrisitibles Houndstooth Alphabet. I used Autumn Terracotta, Olive, and Twilight pigment inks to colorize the letters. Autumn Terracotta and Olive are part of the Enchantment set and Twilight is part of the Whimsy set. I then attached the flags to the back of the frame.

 The bow is made with Burlap ribbon. I cut 8 roughly 4-inch strips, folded them over and stapled (yep, with a regular old desk stapler) them to a square of paper. Using the Artiste Cricut Cartridge, I cut 3 leaves at 1-inch and 3 flowers at 3 1/2-inches, 3-inches, and 2-inches.  I used Avonlea paper for all of them. I then attached them to the Burlap ribbon with glue.

I cut the tags are cut by hand at 2 x 3 1/2-inches from Kraft cardstock. I stamped the fall motif in Olive and Autumn Terracotta pigment inks, and then inked the edges and stamped the sentiments with Chocolate (ink, that is). The sentiments are from the Treasure Life set, which has been retired.

Here it is one more time:

Hope you enjoyed it! Remember the Stamp Of The Month can be purchased for the full retail price of $17.95 OR for just $5 with a $50 order. If you haven't been there yet, don't for get to stop by Lynn's Bungalow and see what she's been up to in her craft room.

One More from the Avonlea Collection

Here is one more example of the beauty of Avonlea.



Honestly, this might be my favorite line of all. Then again, it's really too hard to choose! For this card, I took a more formal approach. Again, it's a standard A2 (4 1/4 x 5 1/2) card base cut from Colonial White cardstock. I used our NEW Exclusive Inks slate ink for the sentiment.

The flower was inspired by an example shown in the new Idea Book on page 49. (Kids, this book is so much more than a catalog!) I think it's a great example of "beautiful whimsy."

The petals on the flower are made from a series of hearts that have been folded in half and adhered to a small circle using glue dots. (Liquid glass would also work well.) The button in the middle is from the Bohemian Assortment embellishment collection. I decided that I wanted the matching thread look, so I cut a sliver of Avonlea teal cardstock and threaded it through the button holes. I then attached the button and "thread" to the middle of the flower. Simple but elegant.

Here is a close-up:




I hope this inspires you to go make some beautiful whimsy of your own!




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Avonlea meets the Hexagon Trend

My friend Lynn and I are exchanging cards so that we have more creative examples from the new Close To My Heart lines to share with you. I thought I would post some of the cards I made over the next few days just to give you an idea of how beautiful and versatile the new lines really are.


With today's card, I used paper from the Avonlea B&T paper pack and a long-retired hexagon punch. The hexagon shapes allowed me to showcase all the beautiful patterns and colors this paper pack has to offer. Aren't they gorgeous? (A simple, but effective design!)

The green and teal cardstocks are unique to the Avonlea collection. However, our Exclusive inks in olive (used here), desert sand and chocolate (both used on the Avonlea layout posted here) work well with this entire collection including the unique color-trend colors.




Here is a close-up of the sentiment stamped in olive ink. The background is second generation stamping using a stamp from the Avonlea Workshop On The Go exclusive set. "Hi!" is from the "It's Your Day" double stamp set that will be available between 15 August and 30 September in celebration of National Stamping Month. ("It's Your Day" can be purchased for $5 with any $35 order during that time period!)

The base of the card is a standard 5 1/2-inches by 4 1/4-inches, and was cut from a 12x12 sheet of our Kraft cardstock. The sentiment is stamped on colonial white cardstock, and popped up slightly using glue dots.

I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to post any questions or comments. If you want to take a look at Avonlea, just click on "Shop With Me" to the right.




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Avonlea Note Box

When I signed up as a new consultant with Close To My Heart, my kit came with the Avonlea Worrkshop On The Go and a My Creations recipe box so that I could complete the extra project. According to the WOTG example, the recipe box was to be used to store and sort photos. That's a great idea, but I tend to print as I go, so my photos are generally stored on the computer until I use them. So I decided to use my recipe box to store some of my handmade card creations. I followed the instructions for the box, but changed the title to "Notes" and added a little stamp to the front from the upcoming double stamp set "It's Your Day."

Here is what I came up with:










Here are a couple of close-ups:










I hope you're inspired! If you would like to make a similar project, just click on "Shop With Me" to the right to go to my Close To My Heart shopping page.












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Join Me in the Fun

Do you enjoy stamping, scrapbooking, or just generally having fun with paper? Would you like to be able to receive the Close To My Heart products you love at a discount? Or better yet, actually let your hobby work for you? Now is the perfect time to join my Close To My Heart team!

We have a new consultant kit that allows you to join and start creating for only $49! This kit, valued at $130, includes our gorgeous new Avonlea B&T paper pack, Avonlea My Stickease collection, 3 stamp sets, two exclusive inks, mocha opaques, a My Creations recipe box (it's perfect for holding standard A2 cards), canvas letters, and so much more.

Or if you are pretty sure that you would like to turn your hobby into a business, you can order the Master Kit for only $99. This kit, valued at $280, includes all of the above, plus Studio J layouts, My Acrylix Stamp Cleaner, My Acrylix Stamp Scrubber, micro-tip scissors, Bonding Memories glue, a chocolate set of our NEW Exclusive inks markers, business forms and Idea Books for multiple gatherings, and more.

But wait, there's even more! If you decide to join my team BEFORE 31 August 2012, you will also receive this beautiful damask tote FREE! 

This tote is available to you when you order EITHER consultant kit, and is available while supplies last. So no pressure, but if you'd like to have the tote, you'll definitely want to sign up sooner rather than later.

I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the CTMH team. We have a wonderful group of consultants who encourage each other and love to share tips and ideas both for maximizing your business opportunities and taking your creativity up a notch. If you're ready to sign up or would like more information, you can click here or on the "shop with me" button to the right. 

A Layout from Avonlea

I wanted to share a layout I did from the new Avonlea Workshop On The Go. This kit has an amazing amount of supplies in it. Over the next few days, I'll be posting all the projects I was able to do with it. The layout shown here is the main layout for the kit.

Because I'm new to this, I didn't have all the recommended ink colors or alphabet stamps. Rather than ordering those, I wanted to see what I could do with what I had. I think it worked out pretty well.

Here are the pages separately:

I used desert sand ink for the title and a mixture of desert sand and chocolate  for "so happy together." The kit instructions calls for olive and chocolate inks on the stamped images, but I substituted desert sand for olive, and really liked the effect. The alphabet set that is used in the kit example was the keepsake alphabet. I don't have that set yet, so I substituted the glamour lowercase alphabet.

One of the things I really enjoyed about using this kit was the multiple stamping techniques it employs, such as reverse and second generation stamping. You can see both techniques here:

These stamps were reversed (that is the side that usually clings to the acrylic block was used as the image and then stamped to the page on the second generation (that is after the ink has been stamped of once on a scrap page). I then cleaned the stamp and placed it back on the block in its with the reverse side down as usual and stamped over the reversed image. It softens the image a bit, I think.

The kit comes with a package of opaque mocha adhesive gems that look gorgeous scattered across the page randomly.  The stamped images and "so happy together" are part of the exclusive stamp set that also comes with the workshop. Four of the images coordinate with the new Artiste cartridge as well.

I also enjoyed using the parlor velvet rub-ons. I had never used them before and I think they add a nice touch to the layout.

The slate gray is a little light for the base cardstock, so the instructions suggest outlining the rub-ons in chocolate ink. It really does give them extra pop.

I substituted desert sand in for the chocolate in called for in the title. In order to make it stand out a little more, I gave the stamp a shadow. (I'm sure the technique has a name, but I can't seem to find it.)

I stamped the each word directly to the page and then did a second generation stamp a little below and to the right of it. (That's the nice thing about clear stamps. You can do techniques like this because you can see through the stamp for placement. It's much harder to do with rubber stamps, though not impossible.)

So what do you think?

I hope you enjoyed this, and are inspired to get out there and get those pictures on some pages for everyone to see!