Central Park Neighbors for AHSC #278

Hello again, crafty friends!  I've been working on a card for a very special person and this week's sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge was perfect for what I had in mind.  I will also be submitting it to the "Lovely Layers" theme at the Heart2Heart challenge and the "Blast From the Past" theme at the Three Amigos Blog Hop challenge (for #15 "machine die cutting" and #16 "embossing").

When my husband and I first began looking into buying our current home, the first people we told were our neighbors-to-be, Carl and Sandy.  They were a wonderful couple that we looked up to from the moment we moved into town and the thought of becoming neighbors as well was just the icing on the cake.  Fast forward a decade and a half, and sadly Carl has passed away and Sandy has an early form of dementia and is no longer living in her home.  I hadn't visited her yet because I honestly didn't think she would still recognize me but her daughter told me she brought Sandy back to her house for the afternoon and as they drove by my house, Sandy stated, "Oh, I'm so glad Annette got that house, I just loved having them for neighbors!"  Well, that completely made my day!  So I am planning to visit her soon but I wanted a special card to give to her, one that was pretty and cheerful and reflected what a special friendship we have been blessed to share.  I really hope she enjoys it, I have missed seeing her radiant smile and would love to bring one of those smiles on her face.  Anyway, here it is:

details:  I started with the Central Park paper pack and coordinating cardmaking stamp and die cut set.

Keeping in mind that Sandy's house is a cheerful yellow and mine is a pale gray, I wanted to incorporate those two colors as much as possible.  I used Pacifica cardstock, the Lemon and white striped/watercolor patterned paper from the Adventure Fundamental paper collection, more Pacifica, and this brick-patterned paper from the Central Park kit.  I used another lovely pattern from this kit that features various houses, trees, bicycles, and hot air balloons for the first vertical rectangle, inked the edges in Pacifica ink with a sponge dauber.  For the next vertical rectangle, I used Bashful ink with the cascading hearts pattern from the retired "Charming Cascades" stamp set, and inked the edges with Bashful ink again.

To create the houses, I used the Pacifica pigment ink pad to stamp the smallest house images from the Central Park cardmaking set twice on watercolor paper, cover with clear embossing powder, and heat setting it.  Once they had cooled, I pressed the centers of my Lemon and Mink ink pads so some of the ink was transferred to the inside of the lid.  Then I used a medium waterbrush to pick up the ink from the lid and paint it onto the houses.  For the die cut heart in the center, I used the pretty lace-patterned Blush paper from the Beautiful Friendship kit with the second-smallest of the stitched heart Thin Cuts dies.

For the sentiment rectangles, I used Mink and Lemon cardstocks, the retired "Tiny Typewriter" alphabet stamp, and Heather ink (I tried Mink but it wasn 't quite as dark as I thought it should be).  I used a small Momenta alphabet die cut set to cut "chance" from the same brick patterned paper, and "hearts" from the Bashful and white polka dotted paper (also from the Central Park kit).  Now all I need is a couple of daisies in a small vase, tied with a pink ribbon, and I'm all set to visit my sweet neighbor again!

Just a quick reminder:  You have until 10:55 pm Eastern/9:55 pm Central on Sunday, 8/26/18, to play along with this sketch at the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge (you can enter your project HERE), and 11:55 pm Eastern/10:55 pm Central on Friday, 8/31/18, to enter your project in the Lovely Layers theme at the Heart2Heart Challenge (which you can submit HERE).  I hope you find time in your busy week for some crafting (hey, it's back to school week if you have kiddos!) and can share your art with one or even all three of these challenges, or at least take a stroll through their websites to get inspired by all the fabulous artwork you will find there.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Watercolor and Embossing for AHSC #256

Hello again, crafty friends.  I am stretching my wings and trying something a little new to me for this week's sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  Before I share my project, though, I want to say we love seeing all our participants' AMAZING artwork and remind you that the deadline for submissions for this week's sketch is 10:55 pm Eastern/9:55 pm Central on Sunday, 3/25/18, and you can link your projects HERE.  Now on to my project:

details:  While the purpose of most cards is to share joy or send cheer, I have found that once in a while it's meaningful to let someone know you understand what they're going through.  Sadly, there are a lot of people near and dear to my family who are experiencing big struggles right now so while I'm not sure who I will send this to (or even if I will send it it all), my heart and thoughts have been heavier than usual and this card, which is quite a bit darker and bolder in color than I usually create, is the result.  I started with a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4" base of black cardstock topped with a 5 3/8 x 4 1/8" panel of Lagoon, and another black panel measuring 3 5/8 x 2 5/8" topped with a 3 1/2 x 2 1/2" panel of watercolor paper.  Before I put the pieces together though I used several ShinHan markers (Turquoise Blue, Peacock Green, Marine Blue, and Lavender) and the colorless blender marker to create a sort of twilight themed watercolor background.  Once that had piece had dried, I used VersaMark ink and white embossing powder to heat emboss this image from a retired stamp set called Paper Garden.  For the sentiment, I used Pansy ink with another retired stamp set called Beloved Bouquet.  I ran the stamped sentiment through my Cuttlebug using the banner die from the retired Sugar Rush cardmaking stamp and die set and then inked the edges with a sponge dauber and Peacock ink.

So while there were several steps to this one, it really was fairly simple to do.  While I'm still deciding if I like such dark, dramatic colors I do think I will continue to practice my alcohol marker blending with other color combos and stamp sets as I like the overall effect.  Also, don't forget to stop by HERE to see what the rest of the AHSC design team have created for you.  Trust me, you will be glad you did!  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Spring Theme for BTF #43

Hello again, crafty friends!  Our theme this week for the Between The Folds Bi-Weekly Challenge Blog is Spring.  This brings many things to mind: the Easter holiday, spring break, the beginning of the growing season and the return of flower and fauna, and - at least for my husband - the return of baseball season, lol.

Now, while I am not a gardener in any way, shape, or form I love seeing flowers and enjoy the colors of the season in all their many forms and hues.  So, I had this Dreamin' Big - Scrapbooking stamp in mind for this challenge from the beginning.  Then, a few weeks ago the CTMH artwork team showcased how to use pigment inks with clear embossing powder for a lovely new technique and I knew I had to try it.  I  used the Pixie, Sorbet, Canary, Sweet Leaf, and Thistle colors from the Whimsy Pigment Ink Pads and clear embossing powder with for the "hello," and Versamark and white embossing powder for "spring."  I used the Sweet Leaf and Crystal Blue watercolor patterned papers from the Whimsy fundamental papers for the background/card base and also for the bottom third of the card, which I trimmed with a pair of decorative edge scissors.  The final touch was a length of retired Thistle ribbon tied into a bow.  This is a fun technique and my photo really doesn't do justice to the glossy colors that the pigment ink and heat embossing bring to the card; the only downside is that it's a bit tricky to wash all the pigment ink from such an intricate stamp set.

This theme is very open to interpretation and we'd love to see what "spring" means to you and your projects.  You have until 10 pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time/11 pm Central to link your projects, which you can do HERE.  Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Shabby Chic Wedding Card for AHSC #176

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  Here in the USA we just celebrated Labor Day, which is the unofficial end of summer which is fine with me as I have always been a big fan of autumn.  While some people get inspired when spring rolls around, whether it's to clean, redecorate, or get crafty in other ways, I feel my best in the fall.  Maybe that's why I felt brave enough to use this latest sketch by Michelle Stewart for Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #176 to venture into unknown territory...  I made my first attempt at a shabby chic card!  It's not as fabulous as the more experienced shabby-chic'ers that always inspire me, but I'm pretty tickled with it for my first try so let's get started!

details:   Later this month we will attend the wedding of a Young woman whose family and ours have known each other forever, and the bride and groom have planned a very country, somewhat rustic themed wedding with their colors being brown (barnwood), white, and mint.  So when I decided to use this sketch to make their wedding card, the first thing I did was to get out this lovely chevron barn board-patterned paper by The Paper Studio, which I cut to 5 x 7".  I cut a 3 3/4" panel of white CS and used Sea Glass ink and the heart stamp from the retired Charming Cascades set to stamp the background pattern and then I used my edge distresser to give that piece a rough, worn looking edge.  I then used CTMH's retired Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the 3 1/2" frame from Sea Glass glitter paper plus a solid shape in the same size in white CS to back the frame.  On that piece, I created a light watercolor background by pressing the closed Sea Glass stamp pad together so that ink was deposited in the lid and then "picking up" the ink using the medium flat waterbrush.  Then I used Saddle ink to stamp the ampersand image from a retired set called Mr. & Mrs., and Sea Glass ink to stamp the words and adhered those three layers to the card.  I used heat embossing and white embossing powder to stamp the congrats sentiment from another retired set called The Happy Couple.  Then came the really fun part:  the embellishments.  I dug out all kinds of things to try but ended up using a variety of retired (and some previously unused) CTMH products:  I hand cut leaves from a wide burlap ribbon, I layered 3 paper blooms and sponged one with Saddle and another with Sea Glass to make the body of the flower with the middle toned Mocha Opaques faux pearl in the center.  My rustic flower felt like it was lacking something so back to the stash I went and after several ribbons failed to impress me, I remembered seeing a recent post that had a pretty little clutch of string behind a focal point image, so I opened up a package of white waxy flax and that did the trick.  I finished the card off by adding a trio of pearls in the bottom corner:  the largest was another of those mocha opaques, the smallest was one of the white ones, and the middle sized was another white one which I colored with my turquoise blue ShinHan alcohol marker.

So, that's how  I created my first shabby chic wedding card.  I hope you will take time to check out all the projects our design team and participants have come up with this week, and hopefully you will find time to create and share your own project based on this sketch from AHSC and share it with us.  As always, you have until 11:55 p.m. Eastern/10:55 p.m. Central on Sunday, 9/11/16 to link up.

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

Wedding Congrats with AHSC #174

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  One of the things I love most about paper crafting is being able to really customize cards or gifts for special people on their special occasions, so I took this occasion and this sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge to create a card for my lovely step-niece and her groom for their upcoming wedding.  They gave chosen yellow, navy, and gray for their wedding colors, which aren't exactly traditional colors, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't going to find many cards to choose from in a store with this color combo so I was extra happy to be able to create something unique for the happy couple!

details:  I started with a 6 x 4" card base cut from Sapphire CS.  I then ran a 5 3/4 x 3 3/4" piece of Canary CS through my Cuttlebug using the retired Heart embossing folder and did a little sanding to make the hearts stand out.  I used some scraps from the retired Charlotte kit for the stripes on the left and the base of the sentiment panel.  I used Sapphire and Canary inks and some Canary CS scraps with the retired "The Happy Couple" stamp set for the cake and bride & groom cake topper and another retired set called "4 My Friend" for the sentiment.   I wasn't sure exactly where this one was going when I started but I'm pleased with how it turned out, and now I have to get busy designing and cutting some vinyl to adhere to a glass block they want to use for a mixed sand sculpture in place of a unity candle.  I have 5 step-nieces and this is the second one to get married, and both have asked me to create something for the wedding day, and I'm so happy and honored to do this for them and hope I will get to help when the next 3 are ready to tie the knot!

This is another fun and versatile sketch to play with, and we'd love to see your take on it.  You can find the link up HERE and you have until 10 pm Central on Sunday, 8/28, to enter.  Even if you can't play, I hope you will take the time to head on over to the AHSC challenge blog where I guarantee you will find some inspiration!  Happy crafting, Annette

Watercolor Fun with BTF Challenge

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  This week at the Between The Folds challenge blog we are creating with a water theme.  The first thing that came to my mind was all the paints, brushes, watercolor pencils, watercolor paper, and resist pattern watercolor Picture My Life cards for quite some time but I simply hadn't taken the time to actually sit down and try them, but now that I have you can be sure my paint brushes will be getting a workout.

I've had this hostess rewards stamp set called Unicorn Dreams (now retired) for some time but could never quite decide what I wanted to do with it.  And while I knew I wanted to break out my watercolor paints for this challenge, I was a little stuck coming up with a project so I decided to make something for myself, just for fun, and enjoy the experience of playing with something new to me.  I admit, I need to play around a bit more with heat embossing in combination with watercolors as this silver embossed unicorn is a bit patchy close up, but it's just for me and I actually kind of like that some of the background paints come through in places, it seems to make the unicorn image even more mystical.  I backed my 3 1/2 x 5 1/2" painted panel on a 4 x 6" piece of the retired Kaleidoscope paper for a little added color fun.

We'd love to have you join us this week at Between The Folds Challenges and share your watercolor or water inspired projects.  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) and you have until 10:55 p.m. Central on Monday, 8/29/16 to link your projects.  Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Embossing Folders for Between The Folds Challenge

This week at the Between The Folds challenge we are featuring projects using CTMH's embossing folders.  I have loved embossing ever since my crafting mentor first showed them to me; I love the added dimension and that extra bit of polish it seems to bring to projects.  Of the 15 embossing folders CTMH currently offers, this damask one has always been my favorite, especially when paired with this image from the Perfect Fit - Frames stamp set.  I really love personalized stationery and miss sending and receiving more handwritten notes so I thought for this project I would create some blank monogram notecards, especially when I saw that monograms are this week's challenge over at the Heart2heart challenge blog.

Once I had embossed my Pixie cardstock, I sanded the raised image so that the white core would show through.  Then I used the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut this shape and stamped it in black with the Perfect Fit set mentioned above.  For the monogram, I used a punch to cut a 1 1/4" circle from the white piece from the gold glitter paper set and stamped the "A" from the retired Vogue alphabet set in black ink, and added a piece of black shimmer trim.  I love how it turned out and can't wait for an occasion to send it to someone.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out all the other projects at the BTF challenge, we would love to see your work too!  Happy crafting, Annette

My first CTMH products blog hop!

Welcome to the CTMH Products Blog Hop featuring our new foil tape. Blog hops are a circular kind of thing so you probably got here from Kim's lovely blog but you are welcome to jump in anywhere along the line and just keep following the links for a shiny bit of inspiration.

I'm very happy to participate in my first hop but I'm especially excited because I LOVE this tape.  I was already a big fan of CTMH's shimmer trim so I was eager to get my hands on the new foil tape and test it out.  Now that I've created my first project with it, I have to say I love it every bit as much as the shimmer trim!  It's super easy to work with and adds the perfect finishing touch when you want a little shine.

details:  I confess, I couldn't stick with just one new product for this card; pretty much all the supplies are new.  I started with our new Sapphire cardstock and the Confetti Stars embossing folder, which I distressed using the block in the sanding kit, and Sapphire ink with the Christmas Star stamp.  Then I used the silver foil tape to create the "rays" emanating from the star, trimming the ends in angles or dovetails to closely border the points and angles of the stars.  To do this, I lay the loose end of the tape over my left index finger leaving a tail and just snipped the ends with scissors, and I never had any problems with the tape getting tangled or sticking to itself.  For the inside of the card, I used Sapphire ink again with the Reason for the Season stamp set, but before I set stamp to paper I wiped off the ink from the Christ child's halo and the star and edged those parts of the stamp in the Versamark and sprinkled silver embossing powder so they could be heat embossed.  All in all, I was pleased with how quickly this card came together but especially the shine this foil tape added.

Thanks for stopping by and I  hope you enjoyed the card.  If you jumped into the hop somewhere in the middle or if you want to take the tour all over again, you can head on over to Kirsten's blog and see her project.

Merry Christmas and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

my first CAS-ual Friday card

After following along for the past couple of weeks, this is my first entry into the CAS-ual Fridays blog where the challenge this week (CFC70) was black, white, and one other color of your choice.  I dearly love this cutout butterfly on the CTMH Art Philosophy and decided to go with orange in honor of the monarch butterflies; I have never seen their migration but if I were to actually make a bucket list, I believe I would have to put that on it.

I tried several plain orange papers but none of them was quite what I was looking for so I used the CTMH Backgrounds and Borders stamp set (D1463) using Sunset cardstock and ink to make my own patterned paper and was pleased with the little extra dimension that created.  Then I used the "Soar" stamp from the Live Out Loud set which was the July stamp of the month set to try a watercolor/crackle embossing technique I saw on one of Jeanette Lynton's blog posts.  I first stamped the image with Sunset ink, let it dry completely, then sponged Versamark randomly onto the same stamp, stamped that directly onto the original image, applied black embossing powder and heat set it.  Not bad for my first attempt but you can check out Jeanette's tutorial for a better example of this technique: Week of Wonder: Two-color, too beautiful