Sharing Handmade Kindness

Hi All! Sorry it's been awhile. (I'm trying to resist the urge to pull the Moriarty-esque "Did you miss me?" thing...but it's tough!) ;)

This month, Jennifer Mcguire is hosting a challenge called "Share Handmade Kindness." It's a chance to take all those cards we make and pile on our desk, in our drawers or wherever, and get them sent.(That IS why we make them, right?) This week's challenge is to make something for friends and/or family.

SO today I'm showcasing a card I made to thank one of my friends for hosting a fantastic cooking class. Let's take a look:

For this card, I used a Colonial White card base and layered it with strips of Fern and Poppy cardstock from Close To My Heart's Enchantment Fundamentals collection. I also added a strip of Gold Shimmer Trim for some extra bling, and to tie in the gold on the front layer.

For that front layer, I used Close To My Heart's Harvest Wreath stamp set. I stamped the wreath in VersaMark ink on a 3 1/2 x 3 1/2-inch piece of Colonial White cardstock and heat embossed it with Gold embossing powder. I stamped the fruit on a scrap of Colonial white cardstock using the rock & roll stamping method and fussy cut them. (The ink colors I used for the fruit are: Lemons, Canary and Saffron; Pears, Saffron and Fern; Orange, Saffron and Poppy; and Pomegranate, Poppy and Pomegranate.) I stamped the small leaves in Fern and the larger leaves in New England Ivy, and fussy cut those as well. After arranging the fruit on the wreath, I added a gold bow using multiple strands of DMC gold embroidery thread. However, the gold on gold kinda got lost, so I added a bow of Poppy Thick Twine. I then stamped the greeting in Pomegranate ink on a little hand-cut tag and added it under the bow with gold thread and glue dots.

Finally, I layered the Colonial White panel onto a piece of Poppy cardstock and lifted the whole thing up using a 3x3-inch piece of craft foam.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

You can see the resist pattern on the Enchantment Fundamentals paper.
The other side has this same pattern in white.

And that's it! I can't wait for my friend to receive this in the mail! I have a couple of other cards to send this week as well. (Love this motivation!)

I hope this gives you a little inspiration to create and share some kindness this week. Make sure to stop by Jennifer Maguire's blog and get the details on this fantastic challenge!

Have a fabulously creative day!

Playing Along with The Paper Players

Hi All! It's been a while since I played along with The Paper Players, so I thought it was about time I did. This week's sketch is a fun one. It's so basic that it really lets you get creative. (Love that!)

Here's my take on the sketch:

For this card, I used paper from Close To My Heart's new Skylark Collection. It has such lovely shades of blues, greens and browns, it's quickly becoming one of my favorites to work with!

The base card is cut at 4 1/4 x 11 inches from White Daisy Cardstock. I scored at 5 1/2 inches so that it would be a tent fold card rather than the traditional left-hand fold. I then layered the patterned paper on Juniper Cardstock and adhered the layers to the base. The flags are all cut from the same sheet of paper as the patterned paper layer. The multicolor arrows are from the zip strip (that's the 1/2-inch strip of coordinating paper at the top of each sheet of patterned paper), the Lagoon-striped flag is an element in the paper that I cut out, as is the brown flag.

The sentiment is from the Lifting Spirits Stamp Set by Close To My Heart. I stamped it in Juniper Exclusive Ink on White Daisy Cardstock and then fussy cut around it. I popped it up on the layered flags using dimensional adhesive. I then added some Aqua Dots for a final understated flourish.

Here are some close ups:

(Isn't the artwork in this paper beautiful?)

And here is the card one last time:

Hope you're as inspired by Skylark as I am. It truly is a beautiful collection!

It's All About Gratitude

Hi All! Happy Friday! It's time to answer another Rose Blossom Garden Challenge. Don't you just love going into the weekend with a little crafty inspiration? This months' challenge is all about Thanksgiving. Lately I've been pondering a little quote I read that says, "Gratitude makes what we have enough." Wow! That's been pretty convicting for me! Thinking about Thanksgiving, then, I wanted to do something that would be a reminder of that powerful little truth. Here's what I came up with:

For this project, I started with an unfinished wooden 12x12 inch tray that I picked up at my local craft store. I layered it with various paints and finishes to give it a distressed look. I then used Mod Podge to cover the bottom of the tray with fabric from Close To My Heart's Sarita textiles collection.  Using the Artbooking cartridge, I cut out the overlay on the "b" key from Kraft Cardstock. (I used the recommended measurement of 11 inches.) The overlay has a nice area for journaling on the right side if you're using this for a scrapbook layout. However, I wanted a lighter look, so I cut around the tree on the right side so that the background would show through, like so:

Using the negatives from the overlay cutout for templates, I cut various leaves and the tree trunk from the Sarita paper pack and did some paper piecing to add interest. I then cut "Gratitude" and "Enough" at 1 3/4 inches using Artbooking. I used both Colonial White cardstock and Sarita for the letters, and inked the edges with Goldrush Exclusive ink. The "makes what we have" phrase is stamped in Stāz-On Opaque White ink using the retired "You Are My Happy" alphabet. Since I was putting several layers of Mod Podge over everything, I wanted to make sure the white ink wouldn't fade or run. Stāz-On plays well with Mod Podge.  "Gratitude" got lost in the tree, so to make it pop, I backed it with Burlap ribbon and added some copper brads for interest. (Love mixing all the different textures!)

I decided that the edges needed something more, so I added a strip of scalloped Goldrush cardstock to the top. The little flower in the middle is cut from Burlap ribbon, bronze glitter paper (which matches the Bronze Shimmer Trim at the bottom), Sarita fabric and a button from the Rosewood mini medley collection.

For the bottom, I pleated a piece of Sarita fabric and then added the Bronze Shimmer Trim to give it a finished look.

Finally, I added antiqued copper studs (also from the Rosewood collection) in each corner for a little extra texture.

And there you have it! My little gratitude reminder. For more inspiration, be sure to go see what my fellow design team members have created in the Rose Blossom Garden. 

A Little [not so] Spooky Halloween Decor

Hi Folks! I hope you're having a wonderful week. It's been way too long since my last post, but in the past month my family has moved, I went to Handmade U in Omaha, my husband has been out of the country twice, and our lives in general have been a little more insane than usual. Nevertheless, I finally finished unpacking and downsizing my craft studio just in time to design a little Halloween Decor for this month's Rose Blossom Garden Challenge.

Here's what I came up with:

It all started with Close To My Heart's Bracket Frame, which I painted black and covered with Spellbound papers. (Sadly, this paper pack is no longer available.) The images (with the exception of the embellishment on the bottom left) are cut at 9 inches using the Artbooking cartridge. Let's take a look at some close ups:

This scary kitty was cut at 2 1/4 inches from Slate cardstock. The stamp is from the Eek & Shreek stamp set, as is the background of her hat, which I cut free hand. Both are stamped in Black Exclusive Ink, and accented with purple, lime green, and diamond stickles. The bats are cut from Black and Sunset cardstocks and edged with purple and diamond stickles. The Sunset bat and the cat's hat (how's that for some rhyming) are popped up with dimensional adhesive.

The moon is cut from Sunset cardstock and then mounted on Black Glitter Paper for some extra zing. I wanted to give the haunted house a little spooky glow, so I mounted the house (cut from Black cardstock) onto Green Glitter Paper and then fussy cut around it with my craft knife.

I cut "Spooky" and "Halloween" from both Sunset and Black cardstocks and then offset the Sunset on the Black for a shadowed effect. (When you do this with words, make sure that both layers are the same size.) The fence is cut from Slate cardstock. I inked around the edges and grunged it up a bit with Black Exclusive Ink.

To create this final embellishment, I punched out a scalloped circle from the Green Glitter Paper using CTMH's retired 2-inch punch. (You could easily do this with the Cricut, but I'm not a big fan of glitter on my mat.) I then attached strips of black tulle and organge ribbon from my stash to make it a little larger. I cut an additional scalloped circle from some scrap cardstock and attached it over the ends of the ribbon in the back to secure them. The headstone is cut at 2 inches using Black and Slate cardstocks and the Artiste cartridge. I inked them up with Black Exclusive Ink and added some purple stickles to tie it all together. The sentiment is from the Eek & Shreek stamp set, and is stamped in Black Exclusive Ink on Slate cardstock. 

Here's another look at the entire project:

I hope you enjoyed this (not so) Spooky Halloween. I look forward to seeing your creations over in the Rose Blossom Garden. 

By the way, stay tuned for the Kraft-y Hearts Blog share later this week. We'll be switching gears and having a little Christmas in October.

Summer Sizzle in the Rose Blossom Garden

Hi All! It's time to play in the Rose Blossom Garden! This month's challenge is a summer theme using the new Close To My Heart Artbooking Cricut Cartridge. Here's my take:

So I started with a frame that I found at my local craft store in the "scratch & dent" clearance section. I covered it using paper from the Surf's Up paper pack, and inked around the edges using Lagoon Exclusive ink. I then cut my elements using the Artbooking cartridge. I'll explain each with it's close up picture. The sand is cut from Surf's Up paper and the CTMH Brown & Tan glitter paper. I cut a 2-inch wide strip from each paper and then cut them in half in a wave pattern. I used dimensional adhesive to give  it depth.

Now let's take a look at the elements up close and personal: 

I cut the sun (p. 53) at 3 inches (real dial size) from Honey and Sunset cardstocks, and sponged the edges using Sunset Exclusive ink. For the center, I cut a 1 1/2-inch circle from Sunset cardstock and a 1 1/4-inch circle from Sorbet cardstock. I stamped the sentiment (from the Chantilly Workshop On The Go) on the smaller circle and used Sunset ink for both the sentiment and edges of the two circles. I layered the rays and offset the Honey just a bit. (I only glued the center so that I could get some dimension between the layers. I glued the larger of the two circles to the of the sun and popped the sentiment up with dimensional adhesive. I added some yellow Stickles to the sun for added sparkle.

I cut the umbrella (p.52) and palm tree (p. 67) at 7 inches (do NOT use real dial size). The base and one  layer of the umbrella is cut from White Daisy cardstock and edged with Silver and Stardust Glitz. For the paper piecing, I cut out 2 different layers of the umbrella from Surf's Up paper and pieced it in. For the palm tree, I cut two layers from Topiary and Pear cardstocks, and inked the edges of both with Topiary Exclusive ink. The coconuts are from the new Mini Medley Rosewood Collection.

The sign base is just scraps of Whisper cardstock to which I added some wood grain texture with the dark Whisper marker. I then lightly sponged over the whole sign with White Daisy ink to give it a weathered look. "Paradise" (p. 52) is cut at 6 inches (do NOT use real dial size). I removed the flagged end and used two bitty brown pearls as "nails."

Finally, the clouds are also cut from Surf's Up paper. I actually used the snowman icon (p. 77) cut at 7 inches (again, NOT real dial size) and then cut in half. I inked the edges in Sky Exclusive ink and popped one of the clouds up with dimensional adhesive.

And that's it! Hope you enjoyed a last little summer sizzle! Don't forget to hop back over to the Rose Blossom Garden for more summer inspiration. We would love to have you play along!

Rose Blossom Garden: "G" is for Treat Box....

Hi All! It's time for another Rose Blossom Garden Challenge! Okay, before you think I can't spell, I know that Treat Box doesn't start with "G,"but if you're playing around with the Close To My Heart Artiste cartridge, you'll find the cutest little treat box on the "G" key....SEE:

I've made this little box before and used it as a teachers' gift. (You can see that project here.) Nonetheless, I thought it was worth doing again, because some people are a bit daunted by it. The thing I love about this box is that the top and box are one piece. It's a clever fold! 

I made these treat boxes for some girlfriends of mine that came into town to craft and catch up. The tags, which are also cut from the "G" key, double as little ornaments that have the date and a little message on the back. The bows, by the way, are from the same key. That's right, so much cuteness from one little key!

For this project I used Dream Pop paper. (If you're hoarding saving yours, this is a great project for it!) The boxes are cut from Dream Pop cardstock at 3 1/2 inches. The bows are cut from the pattern paper at 1 1/2 inches. Because this cardstock has a resist pattern on it, I didn't really think it needed much embellishment. For the turquoise box, I just added a 3/4 x 11-inch strip of patterned paper that matched the bow. For the gray box, I added the zip-strip from the paper that the bow is made out of and some washi tape. Now there's a reason I used the washi tape. The box top has a little tab that holds it together. I put adhesive on the wrong side of the tab and couldn't get it off. I had to cut off the tab, but didn't want to throw the whole box away. Washi to the rescue! I just taped it together and moved on. (I actually like it better with the tape! It was a happy little mistake...)

I wanted this to be a gift that kept on giving, so I added a couple of tags that could be used as ornaments. I cut the pieces at 3 inches from the Dream Pop cardstock and patterned paper. I added a 1 1/4-inch circle to the middle and popped it up with dimensional adhesive. I then stamped the sentiment, which is from the "4 my friend" stamp set, on White Daisy cardstock using Lagoon and Whisper exclusive inks. I fussy cut the sentiment with my craft knife so that it wouldn't cover much of the background and popped it up with dimensional adhesive. I added some bakers twine for the hanger and a little message commemorating our crafty get together on the back. I tied a knot in the bakers twine and tucked it into the top of the lid.

Here are the boxes and their ornaments again:

I hope you enjoyed this little project. Don't be intimidated by that little box, it gives you a lot of bang for you buck!

Don't forget to play along in the Rose Blossom Garden! I can't wait to see what you come up with using the "G" key on the Artiste Cricut cartridge!