Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share Seasonal Expressions 1 Blog Share: Operation (Birthday) Smile

Hi All! Welcome back to day 2 of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share. This month is all about our favorite goodies from the Seasonal Expressions 1 Idea Book.

Today's project features Close To My Heart's Operation Smile Stamp Set: You're The Bomb. For ever "You're the Bomb" stamp set sold, Close to My Heart will donate $3 to Operation Smile. A cute stamp set and a worthy cause. Pretty good combo, right?

So here's the card:

My son turned 14 in December, so this little easel card was just the ticket. (He's a very outdoorsy kid--and also a video gamer... He's a study in contrasts....) The base of this card is Kraft Cardstock cut at 4x8 inches and scored at 4 and 2 inches. The front layer (which stands up when the card is folded into the easel) is 4 inches square. I the layers were made with Twilight, Lagoon and Champagne Cardstocks and patterned paper from the retired Timberline paper pack. (Oh, the sad day this paper retired!!!) I used antiqued copper studs from the Rosewood Mini Medley Accents collection to give it dimension and an industrial feel. The numbers are from the retired color-ready cork collection. The sentiment is stamped in Twilight Exclusvie Ink.

Here's a look at it open:

For a little extra panache, I added a heart to the bomb and a couple of Durables Artisanal Studs to the sentiment.

One more look:

Hope you enjoyed this little card. Now hop on over and see what the amazingly creative Lynn Darda has to share with you at From My Bungalow.

Until tomorrow then....

Thankful Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving

Hi All! Just wanted to share a little card I made for my mom. It applies to you my readers and followers as well.

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

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Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share (Day 1): Thanks for the Memories....

Hi All! Welcome to Day 1 of the Kraft-y Hearts' June Blog Share. This month it's all about creating for "him."

So school's finally out for folks in the Hill household, and the end of school naturally means teachers gifts. However, since my children now have roughly 16 teachers between them, I made the executive decision to only give gifts to their advisory (think homeroom) teachers.  This year, my son's advisory teacher happened to be a guy. (Handy for the Kraft-y Heart June blog share!) So I decided to do the same gifts for both teachers, but just in masculine and a little more feminine versions. Lets take a look.

These gifts, including the bag, were inspired by Angie Judah at My Chic 'n Scratch. I changed up a few things n them, but I can't take any credit for the basic ideas. (The card is my own though...just the good ol' easel card!)

The gift bag is made from two 8 x 8-inch sheets of Kraft cardstock. I had originally used two sheets of houndstooth paper from the Paper Fundamentals Basic Assortment paper pack, but I messed up the bag. So I had to start over with the Kraft. I also used Score-Tape to hold it together. (If you have the patience, you could use a wet glue. I don't recommend using a tape runner or ATG adhesive. It doesn't seem to be strong enough.) Also, I punched the holes in the top of the bag before I put the two pieces together. If you don't do that and are using a Crop-a-dile, make sure that side of the bag you aren't punching isn't caught in the opposite side of the tool. I didn't do that, which is why I had to start over. (Live and learn...) I decorated the bag with pennants and circles cut from Black and Kraft cardstock and the houndstooth paper. The sentiment is stamped in Black Stāz-On ink (I thought I might color it in, but decided not to) on White Daisy cardstock, using the July Stamp Of The Month. (You're going to love this set!) Finally, I added a black button from my stash with a metal stud from the Mini Medley Rosewood Collection attached to the middle of it for just a little guy-style bling.

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

Now for the box:

The box is made from the houndstooth print. I added a 2-inch scallop from Black cardstock that was layered with 1 1/2-inch and 1 1/4-inch circles to close the belly-band. The initial is stamped in Black Stāz-On ink on White Daisy cardstock and is also from the July Stamp Of The Month. I then filled it with fantastic Vermont maple candies.

And the note keeper:

For the little note keeper, I used Kraft Cardstock with houndstooth and black accents. Angie's example used post-it notes, but I decided to change that up a bit. I added a little scratch paper tablet instead. It's a perfect fit! And the pages also fit in the little pocket to the left. (Very cool!) I used the monogram for the outside once again.

And Thanks for the memories...

Finally, the note card is a simple 3 x 3-inch easel card that coordinates with the set. The sentiment is from the April Stamp Of The Month set. If you don't have that, any thank-you sentiment will do. The envelope, by the way, is on sale in the While Supplies Last section at Close To My Heart. I highly recommend picking some up. It's quite a deal!

Here's a quick look at the female version of the set. I used Free To Be paper on it and some retired embellishments. You could also give this to a guy if you just switched out the embellishments to something more masculine.

So I hope you enjoyed the teachers gifts. Tune in tomorrow for day two of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share. And don't forget to pop over to From My Bungalow and see what inspiring creations the über-talented Lynn Darda has for you.

Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share: Let Your Light Shine

Hi All! Welcome to the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share for February! This month we're celebrating the Close To My Heart's new Spring & Summer Idea Book. If you haven't stopped by the always-inspiring Lynn Darda's blog, From My Bungalow, you definitely want to hop over. Lynn always has a beautiful project to share!

Today's project showcases our lovely Ariana papers:

Ingredients List:

Sky Cardstock

Colonial White Cardstock

Sweet Leaf Cardstock

Ariana Paper Collection

Blush Exclusive Ink

Gold Shimmer Trim 

(from the Ivy Lane Card Kit)

From my stash:

Doily

Pink Bakers Twine

Cream Felt Flower

Pearl Flourish

Bitty Pearls

Illuminate Stamp Set 

(November 2013 Stamp Of The Month)

Tools:

Paper Trimmer

Scissors

Scallop Border Punch

Adhesive

Dimensional Adhesive

For this card, I decided to go with an easel fold that would measure 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches when folded.  I  cut a piece of Sky Cardstock to 4 1/4 x 11 inches and scored at 2 3/4 and 5 1/2 inches. For the card front, I cut a piece of Sky to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches and layered it with Sweet Leaf and Colonial White Cardstocks cut 1/4 of an inch smaller than the previous layer. I then added two strips of Ariana paper at 4 1/4 x 1 1/4 inches and scalloped the edges. I cut another piece of Ariana to 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches and layered it with a doily, gold glimmer trim, pearls, twine, felt rose, and sentiment and popped it up with dimensional adhesive. 

I then added the front to the bottom half of the front of the card (which had been scored in half). I then decorated the inside of the card to create a stopper for the easel.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

And here is the card popped-up on its easel:

Isn't Ariana lovely? (It says "high tea" to me!) I hope you enjoyed this little card. Tune in tomorrow for Day 2 of the Kraft-y Heart Blog Share, and be sure to stop by Lynn's Bungalow for more inspiration!

Artbooking in August Blog Hop: Day 1 of the Fun

Hi All! Welcome to Week 1 of the Artbooking in August Blog Hop. Nearly 40 talented Close To My Heart Consultants have conspired to inspire you to get creative with CTMH's new Artbooking Cricut Cartridge. We consultants were challenged to make 4 projects for the month including a scrapbook layout, a card, a mini album, and a home decor or gift piece all with the Artbooking cartridge. If you have hopped over from Krista's Crafty Corner (blogging home of the super talented Krista Herschberger), you're in the right place. If you're just joining in, keep following the links and you'll be inspired, I promise! (Or if you want to start at the beginning, hop over to Adeline Brill's Creative Space for a complete list.)

I thought I'd start out the month with a little card that I made for my husband. With all its different icons and phrases, Artbooking is great for cards! Check it out:

For this fun little 4x4-inch easel card, I used Close To My Heart's new Pro Player collection. (That's right, it's not just for teen video game geeks!) I used Black and Outdoor Denim cardstocks as accents.  The hearts are an overlay that I sized at 5 1/4 inches. The people icon was sized at 1 1/2 inches using real dial size. For the heart speech bubble, I adhered the center heart to the card and then popped the bubble up around it with dimensional adhesive. I used a little white gel pen for accent. The arrow is  from the new "All the Details" stamp set. (This is one versatile little set. I find myself using it all the time!)

Here are a couple of close-ups:

And here's a little picture of the card opened:

There's so much that you can do with Artbooking! For even more inspiration, hop on over and see what the talented Carol Horton has in store for you at Scrappin' in Paradise. And don't forget to stop back by next Monday for week 2 of our Artbooking in August series!

A Tisket A Tasket A Kraft-y Little Mother's Day Basket

Hello All! Welcome to day 2 of our Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share featuring Floral Happiness, Close To My Heart's March Stamp Of The Month. If you haven't yet made it to Lynn's Bungalow, don't forget to hop over and see the beauty she has to share!

I know it's a bit on the early side for Mother's Day, and I started out making an Easter basket, but you know what they say about the best laid plans...

Without further ado, here's today's little bit of inspiration:

So let's start with the basket:

I love using the rose shadow stamps to make my own background paper. For this basket, I used the medium rose and stamped it in Sweet Leaf Exclusive Ink on Sweet Leaf Cardstock. (Tone on tone is one of my favorite techniques to use with these stamps.) The basket is made from a 6-inch square piece of cardstock that was scored at 2 inches and 4 inches. (Here's an old tutorial on it.) I punched out a scalloped circle in Crème Brulee Cardstock (you could use your Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge for this too). I layered that with a 1 1/4-inch circle in Sweet Leaf Cardstock. "Mother's Day" is stamped in Gypsy Exclusive Ink using the Tag the Occasion [ret.] Stamp Set. The back ground was made using the 2nd generation stamping technique. I used a 1-inch circle punch to punch it out and popped it up with dimensional adhesive. The whole flower is popped up with dimensional adhesive so that it covers the brad that is holding the handle to the basket. I did an identical flower for the other side. A little bow made from Color-Ready Seam Binding Ribbon adds some extra flare.

 Here's a close-up of the basket tag:

And now for the card. Here it is closed:

The base of the card is made from Crème Brulee Cardstock and is cut to 3 x 6 inches. I scored it at 1 1/2 inches and 3 inches to form an easel. The front layer is also from Crème Brulee Cardstock to which I added scalloped borders of Sweet Leaf. I stamped the Amethyst [ret.] Cardstock layer with Smokey Plum Exclusive Ink. I liked the tonal effect. I used Color-Ready Seam Binding Ribbon to tie the layers together (visually, not literally, of course). I made a tag like the ones I used on the basket and tied it to the ribbon with a little crochet thread from my stash. Finally, I added bitty pearls for extra elegance.

Here it is opened:

I scalloped the base of the card and added bitty pearls to the scallops to mimic the front. I used a couple of punches to create the stopper (you could use the Artiste Cricut Cartridge for this) and popped it up with dimensional adhesive. "I love you" is also from the Tag the Occasion [ret.] Stamp Set. I added some bitty pearls to tie it together.

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

 And the set, again:

I hope you're inspired to create your own backgrounds now and then. It's a lot of fun to experiment with the different looks--tone on tone, different hues, etc. Remember, Floral Happiness can be yours for $5 with any qualifying order of $50 or more, or you can purchase it on its own for $17.95. It is available through 31 March. 

Now if you haven't done so, hop over to see what the wonderfully talented Lynn Darda has been Kraft-ing at From My Bungalow.

See you tomorrow!