Wild West or Little House on The Prairie...

I just can't decide which better encapsulates the new Clementine collection. Where Dakota evokes images of dusty rodeos, Clementine has more of a quilt and bonnet feel. In fact the quilt is the inspiration behind today's card.




The card base is a standard A2 cut from Pacifica cardstocked and inked around the edges with a little desert sand.

The quilt blocks are cut at 1 1/2, 1 1/4, and 1-inch, and inked with a little desert sand as well. The centers of the blocks are buttons from our Basic Assortment with 5mm light tan opaques in the center from the Mocha collection.




The sentiment is from...you guessed it..."It's Your Day" and stamped in desert sand ink on Colonial White cardstock. (This set is so versatile, you really don't want to miss it!) I mounted the sentiment on a small piece of patterned paper, added some 4mm light tan opaques, and popped it up with foam tape.

I cut a piece of paper 6-inches by a 1/2-inch and folded it to mimic ribbon for a little extra visual interest, and added a couple of 2 1/2mm opaques to tie it all together.

So I don't know if this collection is more Laura Ingalls or Annie Oakley, but whichever it is, it's beautiful. To see it all, click here.



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Truly Amazing

The wild west is back! Yep it's time to dig out those prairie skirts circa 1981, grab your Stetson and get crafting! Close To My Heart has released two new western-themed paper collections. Today's card features the Dakota collection.




This collection includes weathered wood grains, bandana paisley prints, stripes, and houndstooth in stunning rich reds and blues.

For the main sentiment, I used stamps from the April 2012 Stamp Of The Month. The background and "You Are Truly" banner are stamped in slate ink (the background is a second generation stamping). "Amazing" is from the same stamp set and is double-stamped in barn red. All the stamping was done on Colonial White cardstock. I mounted "Amazing" on a banner made from the blue bandana paper and popped it up with foam tape.
Here's a close-up:




The second sentiment, "true story," is stamped on Colonial White cardstock in sky blue ink. I then double matted it on two pattern papers and added a couple of antiqued copper brads for a little flair. The stamp is from the "It's Your Day" double stamp set.
Here's a close-up:




Hope you enjoyed a quick look at Dakota. Now put on your happy boots and get out there and create somethin'! (Just so you know, I'm resisting adding y'all at the end....)




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A Little Flirty

When I first saw our new Flirty collection, I thought, "Hmmm. Nice, but not me." But when I had the actual papers in front of me, I was hooked. This collection has all the richness of fall colors, but with lovely versatile patterns.




The card base is a standard A2 in Kraft cardstock. Though it doesn't come through that well in the photos, I stamped the card base using the large flower from the "Card Word Puzzle" set in desert sand ink using the second generation stamping technique to give a subtle texture. The accent cardstock and the ink used for the sentiment are both Outdoor Denim. The sentiment is from the "A Little Thanks" stamp set. I added some mocha opaques for a little bling, though silver brads or clear sparkles would also be a nice touch.

Here's a close up of the sentiment:




If you look carefully you can see a little bit of background stamping on the base. The sentiment is stamped on White Daisy cardstock and popped up with foam tape.

Hope you enjoyed! You can check out the entire Flirty collection here.






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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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