Here Comes The Sun

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month there are 13 of us highlighting the Sunburst Technique.  

This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.

If you are coming from Brandi's Blog, you are on the right track! 

I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new Sunburst Background Thin Cuts- how awesome is this for creating a Sunburst effect quickly and easily?

Here are two different ways I love to use this Thin Cut. 

The first way is to cut this using different colours of cardstock or different patterned paper. I cut the frame in Sapphire, and then cut the thin cut using Carolina, Bluebird and the Stars and Sparklers Paper. I then just used the pieces within the frame, like a jigsaw puzzle! I also used a sentiment from the coordinating Spot On Sentiments stamp sets, which coordinates perfectly with the circle part of the thin cut. I stamped the sentiment in Scarlet Ink and the card was finished! 

My second way is to simply put some patterned paper behind the thin cut. Here I cut the thin cut in White Daisy Cardstock, and simply glued it on top of the black silver star cardstock from the Happiest Place Coordinating Cardstock. I kept with the silver theme by stamping a firework from the Stars and Sparklers Cardmaking Stamp Set in Charcoal Ink, and then rotating the stamp and stamping the next layer with Versamark and embossing with Silver Embossing Powder. I then stamped the sentiment in Black Ink from the Party Girl stamp set. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue onto Kim's Blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know which card you like the best,  and happy hopping!

The Midas Touch

I love using our embossing powders, and Gold is definitely my favourite!

I may have gone a bit overboard on the gold with this card...but then again, I don't think you can ever have too much gold!

I embossed a piece of White Daisy Cardstock with our Spring Blossoms Embossing Folder, and then brushed the whole thing with Versamark ink. I then put Gold Embossing Powder over the whole thing and heat set it to create a beautifully textured gold background. 

I wanted to keep the sentiment simple, so I stamped the sentiment from the March Stamp of the Month, Winged Masterpiece, using Black ink, and then matted it on some Black cardstock and lay the sentiment strip across the gold background. As a final touch, I added a Gold Glitter Gem on either side of the sentiment. 

March SOTM Blog Hop - Winged Masterpiece

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring March's SOTM, which is Winged Masterpiece, a set of 15 stamps.  

If you have come here from Melissa's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog. 

This month we have 19 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I wanted to show you today how you can use arts of the dragonfly and butterfly wings to create a fun stained glass look for your cards.

 

To start, you want to sponge up some white cardstock with different colours of ink. I just used our standard inks, but you could use any type of dye based inks.  Then comes the fun part- ink up a solid image (I used the back of the heart from Teddy Bear Hugs) and then ink up an intricate image in Black dye ink (our normal Black ink is perfect) and press, or "kiss" it onto the Versamarked stamp, then stamp the entire image onto your coloured cardstock., Then, add some clear embossing powder over your stamped images. You should end up with something that looks like this. I used the inside of the butterfly wing from the Stamp of the Month to get this pattern on my hearts.

Now comes the fun part! You want to heat emboss the piece of cardstock so that the hearts resist ink, and then swipe the Black ink over the entire piece. Make sure you have used your embossing buddy over the piece of cardstock before you emboss it, or it comes out patchy like you can see in this photo.  If you do end up with parts like this, you can cover them up by using the permanent Intense Black ink, but make sure you don't get it on your embossed parts. Then, use a paper towel or a cloth to rub off the excess black ink from the embossed areas and you should see the colours coming through like a stained glass window.  

I cut up the panel but you can use the whole piece as a background too- it is such a pretty look and reminds me of a stained glass window! 

 Here is the finished card, paired with the Party Time Paper Packet. The sentiment is also from the Stamp of the Month, and I stamped it in Flamingo ink. I also added some Black Dots for an extra embellishment, but I wanted the hearts to be the feature of this card. 

Now "Hop" on over to Haley's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the March SOTM is only available until 31st March!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Brushed Blog Hop

Welcome to our Brushed Blog Hop!  If you have come here from Brandi's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

This month we have 18 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's featured collection and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I created two cards using the paper packet- my favourite mix of pink and red paired with greens and yellow make this one of my favourite papers ever and I was so glad to see it back that I used up every last scrap!

The first card uses a lot of 1.5 x 1.5 inch squares of Brushed paper and coordinating cardstock placed on a piece of cardstock in a quilt pattern. I then ran the whole lot through my Cuttlebug using the Quilt Embossing Folder. I love all of the different texture and interest that this embossing folder creates!



The second card uses one of my favourite card patterns. I made the strips of Brushed paper blend well with the main focal point, which is this sweet mason jar of flowers.



I heat embossed the flowers with Gold Embossing Powder and added a few gold gems- shiny and bling without it being too much!



Now "Hop" on over to Stefani's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas!

S2006 Garden Tags Australasian SOTM Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our June SOTM Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop.

If you have arrived here from Doris then you are in the right place.

If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post.

Today I would like to share with you a creation which features Close To My Heart’s June Stamp of the Month, Garden Tags.

I had seen a lovely lady by the name of Mary do a Match Box card, so it inspired me to create one myself! I used a 4.25 x 12 inch strip of cardstock and scored the bottom at 1 inch to create a flap that the card base could be tucked into.



I clear embossed the tag and then used my water brush and Clover, Lemon and Tangerine inks to paint over it. I added a brad to the centre of the tag and fussy cut it then popped it up on some Thin 3D Foam Tape.



The main paper background is from the Mix In Paper Packet, and I added a strip of Stitched Together floral paper down the bottom as well as some white dots.

The sentiment is from the You Make Me Happy stamp set- it was just the right size to be layered on without taking away from the tag.

A full process video of this card can be found here if you'd like to watch the full version of me making this card live!

This exclusive stamp set is only available during June. If you do not have a consultant please contact me or place an order here.

I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Maz.

Heat It Up

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month there are 14 of us highlighting Heat Embossing.

This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.

If you are coming from Haley's Blog, you are on the right track!

I wanted to showcase how I create an embossed wreath to highlight a Stitched Circle Thin Cut sentiment.

I started off by lightly tracing the inside of the thin cut on a pierce of Mint Cardstock where I wanted the wreath to be.

This is where pigment inks come in handy- they retain their colour and stay wet long enough to put clear embossing powder over the image so that the colour shows through. I stamped a wreath of continuous shells in Sapphire Pigment Ink around the circle, then added Clear Embossing Powder over the top and heat set it.

I then added my Stitched Circle created sentiment using stamps and sentiments from the April SOTM, O-Fish-Ally Awesome and added the wave paper from the Seas The Day Paper Packet, matting both of these in Sapphire Cardstock and adding some White Dots for embellishment.

Here you can see that the shells around the sentiment are shiny and glossy, which is what clear embossing does!

Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue onto Michelle's Blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!

Favourite Tool

I thought I would share one of my favourite tools today for the Heart 2 Heart Favourite Tool challenge on their blog.


 I do a lot of dry embossing but struggle with where to put the sentiment- this is where the circle diffuser comes in! It leaves a blank space in your embossing so that you can stamp a sentiment, frame an image...the possibilities are endless.

Here is my card using the diffuser.



As you can see, the sentiment is on a smooth piece of paper with the embossing folder surrounding it. I also stamped a wreath image before embossing to further frame the sentiment.

I also heat embossed the sentiment with silver embossing powder to make it shiny and stand out.



Thanks for stopping by today, and make sure to swing by Heart 2 Heart Challenges to share your favourite tool with us!

Emboss It! CTMH Technique Blog Hop

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month there are ... of us highlighting embossing.

 This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.

If you are coming from Katy’s Blog, you are on the right track!

There are two types of embossing in the craft world- dry embossing where you use an embossing folder and run your cardstock through a machine such as a Cuttlebug, and heat embossing where you heat a fine powder over an inked image to create a glitter/shine effect.

My card today uses both forms of embossing.

I dry embosed the Emerald cardstock using the Swiss Dots embossing folder, and then stamped the sentiment with Versamark ink and sprinkled Gold Embossing Powder on the top. I also added a strip of gold foil.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue onto Terry’s Blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!