Worth Celebrating! (Or, How To Personalize Your Card Stash)

Hi All! Last week I posted about a little change up project I did using Close To My Heart's Blossom Cardmaking Workshop and the Jackson paper packet.  (You can read that post here.) For today's project, I wanted to show you how to take a card you have in your stash and personalize it for a particular occasion.

My daughter has two male friends who were born on the same day as she, and at least one was born in the same hospital. (People refer to them as "the triplets"...) So they all turned 13 this year and one of the boys had his bar mitzvah the day before their actual birthday. Here's a look at his card:

The base of this card is from the Blossom Workshop using Jackson paper. I switched the placement of the sentiment and the art layer because I smeared the original stamping of the sentiment. The art layer covers my mistake beautifully. I added the "13" using chipboard numbers from my stash that I inked with Barn Red ink. By themselves, the numbers didn't pop as much as I wanted them to, so I added a shadow of Kraft cardstock behind them. (I just traced around the original numbers, fussy cut them, and offset the layer.) 

I also covered up the "birthday" sentiment on the "happy birthday" circle with the little half circle "4 you" sentiment that's part of the Workshop's included stamp set. I stamped the sentiment in Glacier ink. I added a wee paper clip from my stash for a little texture. I typed the "Mazel Tov" sentiment on Kraft cardstock using my vintage typewriter, cut it into an arrow, layered it on a Glacier cardstock arrow, and added a mini staple for interest. I then popped the whole thing up with dimensional adhesive. "Hello Awesome" is cut from a zip strip in the Jackson paper packet. Finally, I inked around the edges of the embellishments (expect "happy 4 you") with Cocoa ink for a little distressed look.

Here's a close-up look at the embellishments:

And here's another look at the card:

Isn't it amazing how just a few extra embellishments can change the look of a card? Love it! I hope this inspires you to take some of those cards you have in your stash and personalize them for particular occasions with a few added embellishments.

A Little Change Up

Hi All! So a few weeks ago, I decided to take Close To My Heart's Blossom Card Workshop and see if I could do a masculine version using the Jackson paper packet and Colonial White card bases. (If you want to see the original workshop in action, you can check out my blog post here.)

So let's take a look:

For this card, I used the Workshop's cutting guide and layout exactly as it was written. I changed the ink colors to Glacier, Barn Red, and Goldrush Exclusive Inks on all of the cards, but kept the Black Archival Ink because it really delivers a wonderfully crisp image. (You could use Cocoa Exclusive Ink for the sentiments if you prefer.) I also kept the Glacier Extra Thick Twine, but substituted a little sailor's knot for the bow that the Workshop calls for. Finally, I used Gold Sequins to replace the white of the original card, and used Cocoa Exclusive Ink to ink around the edges of the layers for a little more of a distressed look. (I repeated this technique on all of the cards in this set.)

Here are a couple of close-ups of the details:

And here is a look at the two cards together:

And now for the second card: 

This card took a little more creative thinking simply because the larger panel in the original Workshop has a whimsical flower image stamped on it. I didn't want to do that image on a masculine card, so I took the components of the flower (except for the stem) and created an abstract bit of interest. I also cut the Kraft cardstock layer a 1/8 of an inch shorter in height and width so that a bit of the Colonial White base would show through. The rest of the card is made to the specifications of the Workshop.

Here's a look at a couple of close-ups:

And here it is with the original (you'll notice I cut the Kraft cardstock layer smaller in the original too):

Now for the third card:

I have to confess, the more I look at this card, the more I think I would change the background paper. The striped pattern on the left is the back side of the triangle paper. I think, in the future, I will switch the patterns, making the stripes the overall background and the triangles the accent. I think you could see the stamping better and it would just make for a lighter card. I still like this one, though. If you use the darker background as I did, you will definitely need to use the Black Archival ink for the sentiments, Cocoa ink would get lost on this side of the paper. I would also cut the background layer an 1/8 of an inch smaller, just because it's easier to layer on the base. 

I made a few layout changes on this one (as you'll see). I brought the accent grouping in from the edge about half an inch, switched the side of the twine placement, and added the sequins to the art layer instead of the background layer.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

And here it is with the original:

And there you have it: One workshop, two very different looks. Now THAT'S versatility! I hope you enjoyed it and are inspired to play with you own Workshops On The Go and see what new looks you can come up with by just doing a little ink and paper change up.

A Box Full of Happy

Hi All! Today I'm sharing, as promised, the little box I made to go with birthday cards I created using the Blossom Cardmaking Workshop On The Go.  Let's take a look:

The box itself is Close To My Heart's My Creation Journaling Cards Box that was designed to hold Picture My Life Cards. It has a removable riser in the bottom that allows the 3x4 cards to peek over the 4x6 card, which I removed to accommodate the standard greeting cards. The My Creations line is designed to be altered, so this box was white when I received it.

To alter the box, I first inked around the edges from the outside to the middle with Smoothie Exclusive Ink. I then cut panels from Pear Cardstock that were 1/4-inch shorter (length and width) than the box and adhered them to the box. I covered the Pear panels with Blossom paper that was cut 1/8-inch shorter (length and width) than the Pear. While I did add a Pear panel to the bottom of the box, I didn't add the Blossom paper so that the box would remain level.

Here's a look at the covered sides and back:

After I finished with the panels, I turned to decorating the front.

First I cut a piece of zip strip from the Blossom paper that was the length of the Blossom panel. (The zip strip is the extra 1/2-inch of paper at the top of the page that is patterned on one side and has information regarding the paper colors on the other.) I then cut two lengths of Glacier Extra Thick Twine--one that ran the length of the Blossom panel, and another that was long enough to tie a bow with. I tied the bow to the first length and then adhered them both above the zip strip with a thin line of Liquid Glass.

After the Liquid Glass dried, I moved on to the embellishment cluster toward the bottom of the box.

For the cluster, I relied heavily on stickers from the Blossom Compliments pack. I adhered the stickers to Pear Cardstock and then fussy cut around them. I left a slight edge of pear showing on the "Friends" and "Family" flags to help them stand out. I then layered everything with dimensional adhesive of varying thickness. I added a pin from my stash to hold the "Live A Happy Life" sentiment, which is anchored in dimensional adhesive. Then I finished it all off with stickers from the Junebug Puffies pack (currently on the "while supplies last" list) and Sparkle Flourishes. (This girl needs her bling....)

Here's a look at the box slightly open:

And here it is with a sampling of the cards inside:

The number of cards these boxes can hold varies with the thickness of card embellishments. I was able to house 9 of 15 cards and envelopes in it pretty easily. The whole set would make a lovely gift, but I think this one will stay with me. It just makes me smile. And when I run out of cards, I can find a gazillion uses for the box!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the Blossom Card Box. If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to leave them below!

Easy Birthday Love

Hi All! It's April! Woo HOO!!! Spring is here...or at least it's on its way.... (Have to admit, it's been a little chilly here in the Nation's Capital.) However, nothing brings on that warm sunny feeling like time spent in the craft studio and new products to play with!

Yesterday launched the new Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book for Close To My Heart.

(To purchase your own paper copy, click here.)

Doesn't it just scream summer fun?! (By the way, the strawberries on the front cover can be made with Close To My Heart's Artiste Cricut Cartridge. Yes, I'll be making some of those cuties in the near future.) 

One of my favorite new products from Seasonal Expression 2 is the Blossom Cardmaking Kit. The whole Blossom Collection is fabulous to begin with, but the stamp set in this kit is FANTASTIC! It's all about birthday cards (can you really ever have to many) and it's fun and easy to use. 

The kit includes everything you need to make 15 birthday cards (5 each of 3 designs), except inks and adhesive. The recommended ink colors are Archival Black, Pear, Honey, and Smoothie.

So let's take a look at those cards:

The first card: 

Love the popsicles!

 Here are some close-ups:

The second card:

I actually changed this one up a bit and cut the kraft background paper 1/8-inch shorter in the length and width than the front of the card so that the white edge of the card peeked out just a little. (I really like kraft and white together...)

 And a close up or two:

And the third card:

This one was my favorite to make, I think. The top two "washi" strips are actually stamps! I gave the bow a little extra panache on the ends by gluing them at an upturn using liquid glass. 

And, of course, some close-ups:

Aren't these great?! And it's a KIT!!! Woo HOO!!! 

Now, in my opinion, great cards deserve a great box to store them in, so tune in tomorrow to see the Blossom Cardbox.

Until then....