Animal Greetings from CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

Hello, craft friends!  I hope you are ready for a big dose of CUTE 'cause the little critters (15 in all) in the Animal Greetings stamp set are absolutely adorable.  Added bonus:  this stamp is part of Close To My Heart's ongoing Operation Smile program, which raises funds to provide life-changing cleft lips and palates for children around the world.  How awesome is that?!?!  But hurry, this stamp won't be available much longer but rest assured, something equally as awesome will take its place so that Operation Smile can continue its mission of sharing smiles with children and their families.

So, on to the hop.  As always, hops are circular so you should have found your way here from Corinna's blog but you can jump in anywhere at any point and follow the links until you've made the rounds.  I have also included a list of all our participants in case you get lost along the way.  Now it's time to share my project with you.

I've said this before but this time, I REALLY pulled out all the stops and my craft room is unbearably messy at the moment, but it was worth it because I had a blast putting it together.  This was another instance where what I had planned ended up being nowhere near what I ended up with, lol.  I used the magical paper and embellishments, cuts from the Artbooking cartridge for the photo mat and film strip, and the Art Philosophy and a tricky little bit of planning to cut out the LOVE circles as well as the black circles they are matted on.  Hopefully you can see the cute little mouse friend in the corner and the sentiment in the word bubble, which are from the Animal Greetings set.  I used multiple ShinHan alcohol markers to color in the mouse and, for a little extra fun, the word "bomb" and the actual bomb image are from a previous Operation Smile stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by and now you can hop on over to Jennifer's blog to see what she has in store for you.  Also, please stop back by on Wednesday, Aug. 10, when we will be bringing you vacation themed projects made from and featuring Close To My Heart's line of products.  Until then, stay cool and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Complete list of blog hop participants:

1.  Annette Clark (here)
2.  Jennifer Bennett
3.  Corinna Murphy

Positive Thoughts for AHSC #170

Hello, crafty friends!  The talented Michelle Stewart has provided us with yet another fabulous sketch to play with this week at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  I kept thinking of so many things I wanted to do with this sketch, I had trouble narrowing it down but I finally settled on this quick little card I've had in the back of my mind for some time.  So without further ado, here's my project for today:





details:  Sorry for odd angle but I wanted a close up for this one due to the light color of ink I used for the stamping and so you could see the details.  I started with the purple patterned paper on the bottom half which is from the soon-to-be-retired Kaleidoscope papers.  Not only is purple my favorite color and this is a lovely, watercolored shade of Gypsy, but shortly after this paper was released, CTMH also released the "On The Plus Side" stamp and I knew I wanted to use Gypsy ink on white CS to get a reverse pattern of the one from the kit.  I backed these pieces with a piece of Gypsy CS, the border is actually a piece of white CS covered with the thick green roll of the Limeade Washi tape set.  For the sentiment, I carefully inked this stamp from the Positive Chemistry set with Pear, Gypsy, and Sunset inks, and the panel behind that is another piece from the Kaleidoscope kit.  I used Sunset ink to stamp this image, also from the Positive Chemistry set, and then I used the Marigold, Leaf Green, and Lavendar ShinHan alcohol markers to add color to the large and small white pieces from the set of Gray Enamel Gems.  I haven't finished the inside yet but I plan to use a sentiment from the retired Card Chatter - Sympathy set which reads, "happy thoughts coming your way."

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out the AHSC blog to see all the fun and amazing projects based on this sketch.  Our weekly challenges run through Sunday evenings at 11 pm Eastern/10 pm Central so you have plenty of time to play along, and we'd love to see your creations!  Also, this is the last week to apply to our design team so if you want to apply, you just need to post your creation before this challenge ends and make sure to put "DT" behind your name when you title your post.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Artistry Awesomeness for BTW #26

This week's challenge at Between The Folds Challenge Blog is to make a project using a Creative Cut.  You may use one of the exclusive CTMH Cricut cartridges, our Thin Cuts, or cut something by out by hand.

I am still making teal based thank-you cards for a local woman battling ovarian cancer; she is a very beloved high school teacher and member of our community so she  needs LOTS of thank-you's and I have really been stretching my creativity to try to make her day.  For this one, I used the Artistry cartridge for this fun cell phone image using the Lagoon piece of the first style (discontinued) of Fundamental papers and black CS (5 inches in height) as well as the text bubble from a piece of Honey CS (I was going more for width which ended up being 1.44 inches).  I used the Beyond Awesome stamp set in black ink for the "way awesome" sentiment and then used Cotton Candy ink on white CS and fussy cut the "you are..." part.  For an added little touch, I took the negative-space piece from the bottom button cut out and glued that to a scrap of white CS, fussy cut, peeled the two pieces apart and erased the left over adhesive on the white bit, and overlayed that with a retired metallic silver washi tape that went with the Sparkle and Shine Christmas set from a few years ago, then glued that piece in place and put it all on this soft speckled background paper from the current Calypso paper kit.  So actually, this project uses both hand- and Cricut-cut images.  This one was so fun to put together and so contemporary, I think I may try a couple of variations on it, and by the time I'm done with all my designs I hope to have several dozen cards to help brighten my friend's day.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out all the fabulously creatively cut projects over at BTF this week, and we'd love to see something of yours as well!  You have until 10:55 pm on Monday, 8/1, to link your project if you'd like to play along.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Thin Cuts for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

I have a quick card to share today featuring CTMH's Thin Cuts for embossing and die cutting machines such as Cuttlebug and Sizzix; these cute little dies are a relatively new addition to our product line and each set of dies coordinates with a particular stamp set.  I used two sets for this project:  Tickled Pink and My Anchor (retired).  I wanted a really cheerful thank you card using teal or Lagoon accents, as this is part of a set of thank-you's I will be gifting to a local teacher recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, so she has a variety to keep on hand whether she is at home or the hospital
The front of this card is one of the 4 x 6" PML cards in the Calypso kit trimmed to 4 x 5 1/2" and backed by a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" piece of Lagoon patterned paper from the same kit.  The sentiment is stamped with Lagoon ink using the Tickled Pink stamp set.  I used the sun image from the My Anchor stamp set which I swiped across a Honey ink pad and then touched up the smaller "background" rays of sun with a Marigold ShinHan alcohol marker to add to the overall watercolor effect of the Calypso kit.

For the inside, I used Lagoon ink again with another stamp from the Tickled Pink set.  I created the flamingo images by first stamping the legs in white CS and then using the thin cut dies and my Cuttlebug to cut them out.  Then, rather than stamp the birds' bodies, I ran the watercolor looking pink Calypso paper through the Cuttlebug again and trimmed the leg portion off, leaving the bodies, and glued them to the original full-sized die cuts.  I chose to use the same Lagoon patterned paper from the front to die cut the wings, then stamped and fussy cut the beak images, colored over the black ink with the Marigold marker, and adhered.  I used the black marker to draw the eyes on.

And that's all there is to this one.  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Happy Times Thank You Card for AHSC #168

Hello, friends!  My daughter has been asking me for several weeks for some feminine thank-you cards but between my tendency toward procrastination and several extra busy weeks, I just got around to making some. I'm not sure whether she's just happy to have them done or truly likes what I came up with, but either way they met with her approval so it's a win for both of us!  Here is today's card, based on this sketch by Michelle Stewart for Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #168.  Don't forget to head on over there to check out everyone's projects, and we'd love for you to share your creations too!  You have until Sunday, 7/17, at 10 pm Central.  Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

 details:  I started by cutting a 5" square base with this lovely flowered print from the Happy Times paper pack, a retired promotional kit.  I used the minty green pinstriped paper from this kit to back the medallion and make the banner.  I used the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut the decorative medallion ( decorative layer as seen on p.51 of the handbook) at 2 3/4" and another one of the same size out of white CS so I could use the center for the stamped sentiment, which was done in Glacier ink with the Victorian Gratitude stamp.  I colored a few of the retired Bitty Pearls with the turquoise blue and marigold ShinHan alcohol markers.  I also made a bow from the white and gold ribbon and adhered it to the banner.

For the inside, I cut the same shape at 2" with the patterned paper from the front and 2 1/4" using Blush.  I used Blush ink and an old hostess-exclusive stamp set called A Huge Thanks for the sentiment, and added the zip strip from the same flowered paper to finish it off.

I used the image from Art Philosophy cartridge to cut 2 3/4" piece of the flowered paper and a 3" piece of Blush CS.  Then I used Blush ink and the retired Vogue alphabet and the 1 1/4" punch to cut that out, and the Art Philosophy cartridge to cut a 1 1/2" circle out of Blush CS and layered all these together to add a feminine monogram for the envelope, along with the remaining bit of zip strip that I used inside the card.  Thanks for stopping by!  AC

Magical Mojo for BTF #25

Welcome!  Growing up, my brother was a big fan of "The A-Team" so we had to watch it every week and while it wasn't my favorite program, I did always like one character's saying at the end of each episode, "I love it when a plan comes together."  Well, this project is one of those times when Plan A didn't pan out and I didn't actually have a Plan B but thank goodness inspiration - or rather, inspiration from multiple sources - came together and I finally have a cute little card to share with you.

For starters, the theme this week at Between The Folds challenge is CTMH's Magical paper kit.  This is a really fun, super versatile collection of patterns and colors.  My first intention for my design team project this week was a very involved layout featuring
a trip to a nearby "red" or Farmall tractor museam for so my husband's birthday last week; it will be great when I have this project done, but considering I took 98 photos, that's not likely to happen this week.  So, back to finding a Plan B.  Luckily, as soon as I saw this week's Mojo Monday I fell in love with it and immediately pictured several variations of cards using the Magical papers.  After some dabbling, this is what I came up with.

Thanks for stopping by, and please take time to check out the other projects at BTF challenges and hopefully you can share your inspiration too (you have until Monday, 7/18, at 10:55 pm Central.  Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

details:  All products used are from CTMH.  As stated, I started with the Magical paper kit and this sketch over at Mojo Monday.  I used a piece of Crystal Blue CS cut at 4 1/8 x 3 3/8" and topped that with the large polka dotted piece measuring 4 x 3 1/4".  The yellow dotted medallion was cut with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge at 2 1/4" ( image found in p.31 of the booklet) and the center circle was cut at 2" using white CS.  I used the medium flat waterbrush and ink pressed into the lid of the Crystal Blue ink pad to create a subtle background color and then I stamped the main part of the sentiment in Sapphire ink using the Beyond Awesome stamp set.  Using the same set and Cranberry ink, I stamped and fussy cut the curved "awesome" banner and glued it onto the medallion.  The bottom banner is one of the zip strips backed by Whisper CS, both of which were just trimmed by hand until I got the look I wanted, with the patterned piece being about 2 1/4" long.   For embellishments, I chose to color a couple of the white enamel stars with the turquoise, golden yellow, and carmine ShinHan alcohol markers.

I am also entering this card into this week's Color My Heart and the 7/4/16 Heart 2 Heart dare, where the themes are also the Magical kit.