Little Dreamer for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  I'm so glad you could join us for this week's Close To My Heart (CTMH) Featured Products Blog Hop.  This time we are presenting projects from the new Little Dreamer paper kit, the coordinating card making stamp and die set, the scrapbooking stamp and die set, or the color palette of Black, Blossom, Glacier, Lagoon, Emerald, Lemon, Tangerine, Thistle, and White Daisy.  Not only are the colors beautifully vibrant, but the images in this kit are absolutely adorable!  If you came here from Lauren's blog you are in the right place and your next stop from here will be Corinna's blog, but hops are circular so you are welcome to jump in anywhere along the line and simply follow the links until you've made the rounds.  I have included a complete list of this week's participants in case you get lost along the way.

details:  I am not sure of the "official" name for this card pattern but it's the first step card I learned to make, and I just love using it.  Using the Little Dreamer papers, I used the Artistry cartridge to cut this Earth image and another circle at 3" height and I made sure to align the patterned lines of the blue paper with the rainbow stripes.  Once I had those layers glued together and positioned where I wanted them (making sure the Earth went off the top of the card by about 1/4"), I had to fussy cut the edges of the central part of the card so the rectangular corners weren't sticking out.

I used Blossom and Thistle inks with the Little Dreamer scrapbooking stamp and thin cuts to create the banner, and then I used the smallest heart from the Basic Hearts thin cuts with the Blossom flower-patterned paper and stamped the "you" in Thistle ink.  I stamped the "colorful" sentiment multiple times on white cardstock and fussy cut each letter out (I had planned ahead to use the C and U in white as those letters were basically reversible so once I stamped and cut them I could flip them over to use the unstamped side) and glued them along the bottom of the card.  Once the letters were in place I could position the heart and banner and add a little sparkle from the Little Dreamer glitter gems.  I plan to use this as a graduation card for a lovely young lady from our church who is graduating high school this week and is very into fashion and modeling, and whose mother scrapbooks with me.  I sure hope she likes it!

And that's all there is for this project I'm just getting started with this kit and the possibilities are endless.  Don't forget to stop by Corinna's blog to see what she has in store for you, too.  I hope you will join us again on Wednesday, 6/7/17, when we will bring you projects featuring the No Worries kit. Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Complete list of this week's participants:

1.  Lauren Moore

2.  Annette Clark (here)

3.  Corinna Murphy

Easter Bunny Wishes for AHSC 198

Hello again, crafty friends!  This morning is the snowiest day we've had in my neighborhood so far this winter but luckily I had already planned an Easter card filled with lovely spring colors and this week's sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  Let's get started!

details:  I chose this colorful Kaleidoscope paper from last last spring and paired it with the February SOTM, "Easter Bunny."  I used chocolate ink to stamp the image on Champagne cardstock and then stamped the dress part of the image onto this patterned piece from the same kit using Gypsy ink (retired).  I was pleasantly surprised how well the Tender Pink ShinHan marker showed up on the Champagne cardstock for the inner ears.  I then used the Artistry cartridge to cut the banner that corresponded with this banner from the same stamp set and stamped the image in Pear ink (also discontinued).  The circle behind the bunny is another pattern from the Kaleidoscope kit and the circular frame was cut using retired Sunset cardstock, with Gypsy cardstock for the base.  To finish this sweet little card, I used my last piece of Pixie extra thick twine knotted and stapled to the patterned piece.  I can't wait for Easter to get closer so I can get this sent to my best friend's daughter, who is just about the sweetest soul you could ever hope  to meet!

This was another super fun sketch to work with and we'd love to see your take on it.  You can find the link up HERE and you have until 10 pm Eastern/11 pm Central on Sunday, 2/12/17 to share your project.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Jeepers Creepers for HP Tribute for BTF Challenge

Hello, crafty friends!  This is the second week of our Jeepers Creepers theme at Between The Folds Challenge Blog.  I'm so in love with the colors in this kit and I can't wait to show you my project!

Confession time:  I didn't take up scrapbooking until I was in my 40's and my son, disabled and severely epileptic since birth, had passed away.  My family and I had so many precious memories we didn't want to let slip away, but for a long time it was too overwhelming to actually scrapbook them.  However, as soon as I saw this fun kit and it's brightly colored, whimsical embellishments I knew there was one very special memory I HAD to tackle.  I was even inspired to write up the whole story of how the only movie my son ever got to see in a theater was "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," but my printer chose today to go on the fritz and I had to improvise for the journaling.  So I jotted down a condensed version on a journaling card left over from the Everyday Life planner kit, which I topped off with the Jeepers Creepers washi pack which I love!  It was a little plain with just the card on the left side so I made a diagonal panel, cut one of the zip strips in half and mitered the corners and placed that behind the journaling card for visual interest.  I also added a couple of the purple lightning bold puffies from the assortment for this kit.  I used the
Artistry cartridge for the lightning bolts and glasses, the cauldron is from the "Happy Hauntings" cartridge, and the title is from the "HarryP" font I downloaded from a site called DaFont.  So in the end, this page isn't quite what I had envisioned but the most important thing is I got this one done and my family can relive this special moment forever.  And that's what memory keeping is all about, after all.

So thanks for stopping by and letting me share this special moment in our family's history.  I hope you are inspired to unleash your creativity this week and share your Jeepers Creepers inspired projects with us at the Between The Folds challenge blog.  You have until Monday, September 26, 2016 at 11:55 p.m. Eastern/10:55 p.m. Central time to link your projects.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Random Stamping Projects for Between The Folds 29B

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  We are in our second week of projects featuring random stamping over at the Between The Folds challenge blog.  Not only is this really fitting since September is National Stamping Month, but it's one of those themes which are only limited by our imaginations, so the possibilities are virtually endless!

This one was really pretty simple once I settled on what I wanted to do.  I started with the recently retired "Diamonds Are Forever" stamp set from CTMH's May-August 2016 Seasonal Expressions idea book.  I tried making this on an A2 size card but that looked too crowded once I put my sentiment piece in place, so I started again with a 6" square card and liked how that looked much better.  I used a piece of Ruby CS for the base and then used Sapphire and Gypsy inks as well as the retired Topiary, Ruby, and Creme Brulee inks to stamp the jewels.  For the center piece, I used the center cut function on my Cricut Expression with the Artistry cartridge ( found on p.13 of the booklet) at 2" and 1 3/4" so that I came out with a thin frame of gold glitter paper, adhered that to a 2" cut of the same shape on white CS, and used Sapphire ink to stamp this sentiment from the same set.  The only thing missing is a little shimmer I want to add to the gems with a clear Shimmer Brush but I forgot to order it in time for this challenge.

I hope you will take time to check out the rest of the random stamping projects from the other design team members as well as our participants.  And as always, we'd love to have you join us this week at the Between The Folds challenge blog and share your project.  It's fun and it's easy, you just have to use some CTMH product (and let us know what  you used if it isn't obvious).  You have until 11:55 p.m Eastern/10:55 p.m. Central on Monday, September 11, 2016 to link your projects so there's still plenty of time to play along.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

New Fundamental Kits for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the Close To My Heart Featured Products Blog Hop, where this time we are showcasing the new Fundamentals line of products.  This newest version of CTMH's Fundamentals line has a little something for everyone so this should be an especially fun hop and we're so happy you could join us.  If you found your way here from Corinna's blog you are in the  right spot, but as always hops are circular things so you are welcome to jump in anywhere along the line and make the rounds.  In case you get lost, you can find a complete list of participants at the end of this post.  Now on to my project:

I am *so* happy with the way this turned out!  I have been envisioning something like this for quite a while but nothing I put together quite hit the mark, but as soon as I saw this pattern in the new Fundamentals line, I new I could finally make it work.  For this photo, I have the page in an open frame but my plan is to place it in a 12 x 12" frame with a glass front so that it can be used as a dry erase board.  Not only will this probably find it's way onto the gift table for one of several weddings on my calendar in the next few weeks, but it will probably become a staple when I do vendor and craft fairs as well.  And this was so easy to make, I just cut 2 equal sized panels of the fundamentals papers and 2 pieces of CS which I then embossed and sanded, and inked the edges of all 4 panels before adhering them to a 12 x 12" base of white CS.  Then I used my Cricut Explore and the CTMH Art Philosophy (for the "today" and "because...") and Artistry cartridges (for the I Love You, cut twice with "love" fussy cut from the dominant color).  And that is all there is to this one!  Now it's time for you to hop on over to Lauren's blog to see what she has in store for you.  I hope you will join us again on 9/7/16 when we will be featuring projects using CTMH's Thin Cuts, plus this will be the first hop using new products from the Seasonal Expressions idea book so there's going to be lots of fun and inspiration you won't want to miss out on.  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Complete list of blogs participating:

1.  Annette Clark  (here)

2.  Lauren Moore

3.  Donna Digby

4.  Jennifer Bennett

5.  Corinna Murphy

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

Calypso Cheer for Between The Folds Challenge #23

Hello!  Here in the midwestern part of the USA we are experiencing an early dose of summer so it was especially delightful to sit in my air conditioning as I worked with the soothing colors of the Calypso paper kit for this week's project at Between The Folds Challenge #23.
I really wanted to send a pretty card full of care and support for a woman in our community who just diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  She is an inspiring teacher at our local high school and has a huge team of family, friends, current and former students, and her and her husband's coworkers behind her and we're all trying to help her and her family in any way we can.  I wanted a large card and envelope so I can include several gift cards, some hand crafted thank you notes, stamps, etc.






















details:  All papers used for this card are from the Calypso paper kit.  I started by adhering a 5.75" square piece of the lightly speckled piece onto a 6" square piece of the lagoon patterned paper.  Then I used the Artistry Cricut cartridge (p.28 of the booklet or the background function/k key at 5 inches real dial size) and made one cut in the black patterned paper, then carefully measured and adjusted my starting point so I could get the same cut out of the 4x6-inch striped piece of the PML page of the kit.  I adhered the black piece and then pieced the striped heart pieces into place.  I used the discontinued Card Chatter - Sympathy card in Lagoon ink for the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by and please take time to head on over to Between The Folds Challenge Blog to check out the rest of the projects created by our talented design team and participants.  We would love to see what you can create with the fun colors in the Calypso kit, and you have until 10:55 pm Central time on Monday, 6/19, to link your projects.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette