Welcome to this month's Technique Blog Hop where we are Mixin' It up! That means participating Close To My Heart Consultants can use our Mix-Ins paper packet for their artwork OR they can mix and match papers from various paper packs! I can't wait to see what they have to share!
If you are coming from Tamara's Blog, you are on the right track. You will find a complete list of participants at the bottom of this post, if you were to get lost along the way.
For my card, I chose to use the Mix-Ins Paper Pack. Why do they call it that? Because it's a great selection of colors and patterns that can be MIXED IN (ha! Get it?) with other papers! I especially love this one because of the black and white patterns, which can go with anything!
Because I wanted a "fiesta" color combination for my papers, I chose to use my favorite pattern (of course) from that paper pack AND then added some Lagoon and Pixie cardstock. Can you see the GREAT potential of this product?!
Of course, the Wild & Punny stamp set helped to make this card super fun. I hope it makes you smile, like it does for me.
Welcome to "Blog with Friends" where I join several other bloggers and we connect with one another as we highlight a theme that is up to our interpretation. This month's theme is "Tell Your Story".
After you read my post, you'll find images and links to the other blogs. We'd love for you to visit all of them and always appreciate when you leave a comment sharing your thoughts. So...be sure to read all the way to the bottom.
Do you tell your story? I'm sure you realize you are the best author of that book, right? We have so many daily happenings that take place in our lives - some great, some good, and some we don't want to remember. We've all been there and the fact of the matter is, they all make us who we are; even the challenging ones.
So how about another question? How many photos do you have, solely on your phone alone, that tell part of your story? I'm going to guess you have tons of them just like I do. Truth be told, however, those photos aren't stories until you document the tales behind them.
Think about a recent and favorite photo you have on your phone. Now, go look at it. Does it make you smile? Why? What does the photo tell you about that moment you experienced?
Would someone who looked at that same photo experience the same feel-good? I'm going to guess the answer is 'no'. Wouldn't you like for others to look at that photo years in the future and know why you took it and how it made you feel even as you reflected upon that occasion after it took place? It's part of your legacy, after all.
I love documenting my stories and have done so through scrapbooking over the years. "Scrapbooking" is a scary word to some people but I work to keep it simple and enjoyable, preserving the moments that matter most. Now, don't think I'm all caught up or anything because that is far from the truth but I do enjoy telling my stories.
In fact, would you believe me if I told you that it took me less than 6 minutes to put together this layout, without the photos? It's true! It took me longer to decide which photos I wanted to print than it did to create it. I love that was the case!
Alright, so I'm no magician AND I didn't create the layout is not my original design, but does it detract from the fun moments experienced when we went to the Hawaiian Islands last month? I would imagine that would be a resounding 'no' from the audience. :)
Check out this quick video (feel free to mute the music if you would like) and you will see me assemble it.
I LOVE that it was simple to put together and then by adding our photos and my journaling...it's a masterpiece, don't you think? It was made with the Close To My Heart scrapbook subscription kit, Craft with Heart, from June. It only requires adhesive, a journaling pen and photos.
While these are 12" x 12" layouts, I love that I have also used a variety of sizes through a product line by Stacy Julian.
How do you tell your story? You'll find some additional ideas on how to do so and if you want more information on doing so the paper way, let me know! I'd love to tell you more!
Welcome to this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge where we are creating artwork along the theme of "Making Waves". You, too, can link up to our challenge by visiting our blog. Be sure to use Close To My Heart products in your creation (current or retired) as that's the premise for the challenge. :)
My hubby took me away on a surprise vacation for our 21st wedding anniversary and I thought these layouts were perfect for preserving some of those memories. It was such an awesome time and I'm looking forward to scrapbooking the others.
Be sure link up to us at Heart 2 Heart. We'd love to see what you create for this topic, and the others for July.
Happy July! Welcome to this month's Blog Hop where our focus is the "Bear Hugs" Stamp of the Month. It's available this month only for $5, with a qualifying purchase! (All details can be found here.)
Check out the adorable images and sentiments. Isn't it super sweet? Who can you see these sentiments applying to, in your life?
If you are coming from Katy's Blog, you are on the right track. You can find a complete list of participants here.
Using the True Love paper pack, I chose to make this different fold card for this stamp image. I know I want to continue making cards with it - and have some ideas to do so - but thought I'd start here.
I didn't do anything fancy in the way of stamping. I inked up the bears in Espresso ink and then used a color pencil to color in the cub. A few Sugarplum Glitter Gems and that was it!
To create this style of card, I scored the front of my base at 2 1/8" (half of 4 1/4"). Then, I bent it backwards and added the focal point. When it's closed, as seen in the top image, you'll see that some of the patterned paper, placed on the inside of the card, is exposed. In most cases, you'll want to stamp the image behind the focal point so you can't see it. I used Sapphire ink to do so.
Here's a view of it open so you have a better understanding of how it's designed.
I truly appreciate you stopping by and am excited to see what variations the other Consultants have created with this set! I know it's going to be fun!
Now head on over to Michelle's Blog to see what she has created with this stamp set! Consider leaving a comment before you move on. I love hearing from you!
Welcome to this week's Heart to Heart Challenge, "You Are My Sunshine". Create and link up any artwork related to the theme and be sure to incorporate some Close To My Heart product in your creation.
Using the You Are Here Cricut Collection, exclusive to Close To My Heart, I created this card using various images. Because our paper has a white core, simply tearing the cardstock created a look of "sand". I love how simple it is.
I actually may be using this as a focal point for our vacation photos.
Welcome to this month's Technique Blog Hop where we use Close To My Heart products to create artwork centered around the theme of "Pocket Power"! Participants can choose to interpret that theme however they see fit and I'm sure we'll see a variety of interpretations!
If you are coming from Tamara's Blog, you're on the right track. You'll find a complete list of participants at the bottom of this post.
I did make a slight adjustment on the right side of the page. I moved the items slightly to the right and sliced down the middle, at 6" - after I assembled the layout. That allows me to do so where it didn't impact the page design. THEN, I placed each 6" x 12" piece inside one of our Flip Flaps and made it interactive by sticking them up to of a standard 12" x 12" page protector. Keep reading...
When I open each flip flap - like doors - this is what is exposed; two 6" x 12" panels and a 12" x 12" page. Isn't that awesome?! I can include more photos, journaling and whatever else I desire.
Flip Flaps help extend the space in your scrapbooks without feeling you have to do extra "work" to add additional memories or to save memoriabilia items. We have a variety of Flip Flaps to choose from with each offering a different element to your pages.
This shows you how the Flip Flap works to showcase all that has been shared above. Do you love it?!
I will be offering this as a virtual class in July. It will be shared on my VIP group. If you don't currently have a Consultant, contact me for additional information.
Welcome to this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge titled, "Woodwork". You can incorporate anything woodgrain into your project, or even stretch outside the box a bit with the theme, if you would like. Just be sure to use some Close To My Heart products in your creation.
I whipped up this card using the Into the Wild product line and a simple card design.
I absolutely love the different paper patterns that are great for masculine themes or a piece of artwork that would work great with neutrals.
Some of the patterns do have "woodgrain", but I chose to incorporate the Into the Wild Woodgrain Shapesfor the texture. As you can see, there are a variety of shapes included.
I used Tombow adhesive to adhere the dimensional stars to the card front.
The Never Give Up stamp set, which includes these awesome encouragement sentiments, was used. I can't wait to make additional artwork using the other images.
To link up to this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge, go to the blog and you'll see the opportunity to link up at the bottom of the respective post. I look forward to seeing your artwork there.
Welcome to "Blog with Friends" where I join fellow Bloggers as we share topics/ideas around a theme. This month our theme is "Fireflies".
So...you might be wondering where the fireflies are on this layout. There aren't any! ha BUT...I will tell you that fireflies totally scream summer and I think this layout totally aligns with that. What do you think? Well...that's what we're going to go with.
Outside of the tropical theme, I love the sentiments on both layouts. "Escape the ordinary." Yes, please! I want each day of my life to be something "different" and "new", not the same ol' same ol' many people experience. While I appreciate structure, sometimes being unpredictable provides a jumpstart.
"To travel is to live". Yes it is! God created such beauty on this earth and while I've been able to enjoy a lot of it, there is tons more left for me to see. I plan on living until I die. What about you? Don't cut your life short by missing out on the extraordinary.
Do you have some fun memories you would like to preserve? There is a fun and inexpensive way to do so with a special from Close To My Heart, during the month of June. It's called "The Best Moments are FREE" and you have four different options. The price is a steal because essentially, you pay for the stamp set and get the rest of the kit items FREE! It truly sounds too good to be true, but it is true!
If you would like to preserve your memories, while I create the layouts for you to do so on, contact me and that is completely possible. In fact, I'd be honored to do that for you. I'm sure you have memories worth documenting.
Now, check out these other fabulous blog posts from some of my bloggin' friends. We all love when you leave a comment and show us some blog love so please consider doing so.
Happy June! Welcome to this Blog Hop where we are featuring the Stamp of the Month, "It's Your Day to Sparkle".
This beautiful stamp set, that contains 29 images of various types, can be yours this month for $5! It retails at $18.95 but with a $50 order, you can get it at the $5 price! Read all those details here.
If you are coming from Cat's Blog, you are on the right track. You can find a complete list of participants through this link.
I love how this card came out and enjoyed being able to focus attention on coloring this beautiful cake image. With the size and beauty of the cake, there was little need to add much more.
While not reflected the best in the photo, Watercolor Pencils were used to color in the image and the Clear Shimmer Brush was used to blend the pencil coloring and add some shine.
Curious on where I got this card design from? I actually used the Craft On Cardmaking Workshop pieces to create it, providing a variation to the original cards. I love being able to use the resources Close To My Heart provides, for FREE, which we can use with other products or for other themes.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Consider leaving a comment before you head on over to Brenda's Blog to see what she has to share with you.
I hope you have a fantastic month and a very enjoyable weekend!
