Layers of Twinkle!

Hi All! Welcome to the Rose Blossom Blog Hop featuring Close To My Heart's October Stamp Of The Month: Twinkle. 

If you just hopped over from the super talented Shelly Nemitz's blog, Just One Pretty Piece, you're in the right place. If you started with me, or get lost along the way, there's a list of blog hop participants at the end of this post. Now on with the project....

So for this project, I decided to think outside the box a little. (I know, what box, right?!) Anyway, when I saw the ornament stamp, I knew I needed to make a poinsettia out of it, but when all was said and done, the flower was too big for a card. And so my little home decor frame was born. 

For the poinsettia, I stamped the leaves in first and second generations of Pomegranate ink using the back of the stamp. (That means I attached the stamp to the block on the striped side.) I then stamped stripes on the lighter (second generation) leaves with the same Pomegranate ink, and stamped the darker (first generation) leaves with Ruby ink. For the green leaves, I again used the back of the stamp and stamped two layers of Fern ink. I added stripes using New England Ivy. For a little extra zip, I edged all the leaves with gold embossing powder and heat set them. For the center of the flower, I used glittered hearts from the Gold Fundamentals Assortment pack, and topped it with a Gold Bling Gem.

I stamped the frame for the Believe sentiment in VersaMark ink and heat embossed it using gold embossing powder. I then inked around the edges with Cashmere ink to give it a little bit of an aged look. Finally, I stamped the sentiment in Ruby ink and added a little bling to the "i" for extra sparkle.

I wanted a simple background in the center area. So I painted it cream and added some random streaks of gold Rub 'n Buff. I then stamped the Noel, Peace, and Joy sentiments from the stamp set onto the background in Chocolate ink. The ink reacted with the Rub 'n Buff (which has an almost waxy finish) to give it a shadow look that I really liked. (You can se it in the picture above.) I also added some sparkle flourishes around the frame to tie everything together.

The frame is a simple 4x4 inch wooden frame that I picked up for a dollar at my local craft store. I used several coats of paint on it, along with Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. After the crackling was dry, I added more cream and gold paints. (There are A LOT of layers on this frame.)

Here's one more look:

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed this merry little twinkle. Now, hop on over to the crazy-talented Morgan Vogt at TweetScraps and see what inspiring goodies she has for you today. And here's a list of blog hop participants if you get lost along the way.

Brenda

Lynn

Marg

Shelly

Kim {you are here!}

Morgan

Mary

Kristine

Kim S.

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Coming at you tomorrow.....

You won't want to miss the inspiration.....

Jack(son) in a Box

Hi All! Happy Monday! I thought I'd start the week off by sharing a card box I made to house the set of Jackson cards I made a few months ago. (You can see that card set here.) This project came with me to the CTMH Convention for the Creativity Showcase at the beginning of July.

Let's take a look:

For this box, I altered a Close To My Heart My Creations Journaling Cards Box. These boxes are originally white and have an easily-removable insert in them that allows you to stash your Picture My Life cards. However, I find they hold A2 sized cards and envelopes very well once the insert is removed, so that is what I generally use them for.

To alter the box, I first inked around the edges with Glacier ink. I then covered the box with layers of Cocoa and Glacier cardstocks and finished it off with paper from the Jackson Collection. I embellished the front of the box using Jackson compliments, which I popped up at varying heights with dimensional adhesive. and added some metal from the Rosewood Mini Medley collection (along with a  memo pin from my stash) for added texture. For the lid, I added a zip strip from the Jackson papers that I edged with Glacier Extra Thick Twine. I finished that off with two large metal-rimmed pearls (also from the Rosewood collection) to tie everything together.

Here's a look at some of the embellishments:

And here's a look at the sides of the box:

Finally, here is a look at the box with a representative sample of what it houses inside:

I hope you enjoyed this box. You can also see how I've altered this type of box before here and here. Have a fabulously inspired week!

A Little Rose Blossom Mojo

Hi All! Sorry for the long hiatus, I've been in sunny SoCal with my family. We had a ball kayaking and seeing sights then going to Disneyland and the Close To My Heart national convention. (There's A LOT of cool and beautiful things in the offing that you won't want to miss, so stay tuned...)

Meanwhile, it is time for another Rose Blossom Blog Hop! If you just hopped over from the oh-so-talented Marg Van Patten's blog, I Didn't Have Potatoes, you are in the right place. (If you're just starting here, I'll have a list of hop participants at the end of this post.)

The challenge for this hop was to create something using the hostess stamp sets that are being featured in the Jump On It July special.

I decided to create a card using the Tagged With Love stamp set (shown in the picture above) and the current Mojo Monday sketch:

Here's my take:

If you're a regular reader, you will know that I rarely use things as they were meant to be used, and this stamp set is no different. As the name suggests, the Tagged With Love stamp set is designed to coordinate with CTMH's Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge to make cute little tags that are perfect for gift giving or even as additions to cards. But I wanted to change things up a bit. So, against a background of Jackson paper and Kraft cardstock, I added a banner of pennants made from the top of one of the tags. The pennants are stamped onto Colonial White cardstock (which matches the card base) in Barn Red ink. I used Liquid Glass to adhere a piece of Glacier Extra Thick Twine to the card and then layered the pennants beneath it. The sentiment is also stamped on Colonial White cardstock in Glacier ink. I inked around the edges of the sentiment and the base layer with Cocoa ink. Finally, I added some cocoa gems from my stash for a little extra embellishment.

Here are some close-ups:

 And here is one final look at the card:

I have another example of using a different hostess set here.

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to check out the July special. You'll want to Jump On It before it goes away. (See what I did there?...) Now, hop on over to the über-talented Cathy Arbuckle's blog, and see what These Eager Hands have in store for your inspiration today.

But before I go, here's a list of blog participants:

Brenda Rose

Lynn Darda

Marg Van Patten

Kim Hill {that's me} 

Cathy Arbuckle

A Little Colorful Midweek Mojo

Hi All! Just thought I'd share a little card I made that was inspired by this week's Mojo Monday Sketch:

When I saw this sketch, I knew exactly which stamp set I wanted to use: Dizzy Circles. If you liked playing with Spirographs as a kid (okay, some of us still do), you're going to love this stamp set. It's the look of Spirographs without the hassle of dragging out the pieces. So let's go to the card:

This card started with a White Daisy base. (I have it laying on some kraft cardstock for photographing, but just realized that it looks like a kraft card. Oops!) I then layered Lagoon, Pear, and   Sorbet cardstock on the base, with each layer 1/8 of an inch smaller than the previous one. The circles are cut from matching cardstock. Each image is stamped using the rock and roll technique. The large image is stamped in Hollyhock and Sorbet inks. The medium images is in Canary and Pear inks. I stamped the sentiment (which is actually from the April 2015 stamp of the month set) in Cotton Candy and Smoothie inks. The small image is in Lagoon and Gypsy inks. I added thin Washi tape from the Carnival Washi Tape Pack. Finally, I finished it off with Gold and Coral Reef sequins, along with some Diamond Stickles.

Here are some close-ups:

This was such a fun card to make. The colors are just so happy and the spirals are fantastic. Hope it inspires you to have some creative fun!

Heading to the Next Level

Hi All! Today is my son's big move from middle school to high school. They don't call it 8th Grade Graduation; rather, it's a "moving up" ceremony. Fifth grade and 12th grade have graduations. My theory is that since the middle school and high school are on the same campus, it's not really a graduation. Still, it's a transition worth celebrating in my book! (And the school's book, too, since I'll be attending a "Moving Up Ceremony" later today.)

So I thought I'd share the card I made for him, which was inspired by this week's Mojo Monday Challenge 401:

Here's the card:

Now my boy is a gamer--he likes to play them and build them. So I thought this retired stamp set from Close To My Heart called "Tech Speak" was perfect. The celebrate sentiment is from the Just To Say stamp set that is included in the CTMH Artfully Sent Cricut bundle. I used White Daisy cardstock for the base, and added a layer of Silver Foil Cardstock by Ranger. I created my own background paper by stamping computer code from Tech Speak onto White Daisy cardstock in second generation Cranberry ink. I added a layer of Pacifica cardstock to the edge that I embossed with a starburst embossing folder by Teresa Collins. A strip of Silver Shimmer Trim ties the layers together. I created the circuit layer by stamping the circuit board in Black ink onto White Daisy cardstock and layering that onto Cranberry cardstock. I used a bit of dimensional adhesive to allow the layer to sit flat on top of the embossed cardstock and shimmer trim. The shapes are cut from the Artiste Cricut Cartridge from Cranberry and White Daisy cardstocks, and "Next Level" is stamped in Pacifica ink. "It's time to celebrate!" is stamped in Cranberry ink on White Daisy cardstock and hand-cut into a banner.

Here's a close up:

And here's a look at the inside:

I used stamps from "Just to Say" and stamped them in Pacifica ink.

And here it is with the matching envelope:

I hope you enjoyed this little non-graduation-transition-from-the-8th-grade card. I love any chance I get to celebrate my kids! 

A Little Tuesday Mojo

Hi All! So Mojo Monday is not only having their contest sketch this week, but they also have a Design Team call out. Who could pass up THAT opportunity?!? Here's this week's sketch:

And here's my take on it:

For this card, I used a standard A2 (5 1/2 x 4.1/4 inch) card base made from Close To My Heart's Cocoa cardstock, and rounded the bottom corners with my corner rounder. Since this is a white core cardstock, I inked around the edges of the cardstock with Cocoa Exclusive Ink. I added a layer of White Daisy cardstock that is 1/4 inches shorter and narrower than the base. For a little added texture, I stamped a background stamp from the Jumping Geometrics stamp set in VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder. I then added a circle of gold-foiled vellum to the corner, rounded the bottom corners, and adhered the entire layer to the card base.

The flower is from the Wavy Blooms stamp set (one of my favorite sets for coloring). I stamped it in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on White Daisy cardstock and let it dry. I then colored it with ShinHan Twin Touch markers in Golden Yellow, Marigold, Bronze, Mahogany, Leaf Green, Vivid Green, and Sap Green. The sentiment is from the Documenting Moments stamp set, and is stamped on White Daisy cardstock in Honey and Cocoa Exclusive Ink. I flagged the end and then popped the sentiment and flower up with thin 3D foam tape. When all was said and done, I thought it needed a little something more, so I added some gold sequins for the final touch. 

Here are a couple of close-ups:

Hope you enjoyed this little bit of Mojo Monday on Tuesday. It was fun to play along once again.

A Little Taste of Thanks....

Hi All! Hope you're having a fabulous Saturday. We're in the throes of the year-end wind-down here at the Hill house. So as per yesterday's promise, I thought I'd share the gifts I put together for the kids'  advisory (think homeroom) teachers. 

The inspiration for these boxes came from videos that can be seen here and here. I changed up the measurements a little. The boxes are made from White Daisy cardstock measuring 10 x 7 1/8 inches. They are covered with Taste of Summer paper that coordinates with their cards. The sentiment is from the You Mean The World To Me stamp set (a super versatile set), and is stamped in Canary Ink on a 2-inch scalloped circle of White Daisy that I popped up with thin 3D foam tape. I added dots of Diamond Stickles on each scallop for extra flair. The flowers are made from White Daisy cardstock that I punched using a punch from my (a little too) extensive collection. I added Yellow Stickles to the center to mimic the flowers in the paper. (Yep...I'm definitely on a Stickles kick...) I closed the box with white seam binding ribbon.

Here's a look at it from the side (I really like the shape of this box):

And here's a couple of close ups of the embellishments:

And, finally, here are the boxes with the cards:

Oh, I nearly forgot! The boxes each hold 3 jumbo tea light candles from Ikea. (Vanilla scent.) I'll add a gift card to the card as well. Our teachers (like most) work so hard, you really can't bless them too much! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this project. Thanks for joining me today. Have a fantastic weekend!