Heart 2 Heart Challenge - Non-Traditional Christmas Colors

Thank you for joining us for this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge where you are asked to create Christmas-themed artwork using non-traditional colors. I am excited to see the color combinations everyone uses.

The colors of cardstock I incorporated are Raspberry and Pansy. I stamped the sentiment in Emerald.

To add a touch of gold, I add Gold Sequins and Uptown Fundamentals paper. Behind the ribbon there is a piece of shiny gold paper, although difficult to tell in the photo. (I love this paper pack!)

The stamp set I used is Jolly Holiday.

Consider linking up to this week's challenge and be sure to use Close To My Heart products when you do. I look forward to seeing your artwork.

Have a blessed week! 

Melissa

Happy, Happy Christmas Blog Hop

This month's campaign, "Happy, Happy Christmas", provides you with an opportunity to purchase a bundle that includes supplies, plus your choice of one of our fabulous scrapbook albums for creating three layouts. You can use the leftovers to create some home decor items for yourself or they make great gifts for anyone on your holiday list. (Click here for details.)

If you are coming from Catherine's Blog, You are on the right track. You can find a complete list of participants by clicking here.

We have been asked to use products associated with this promotional offer in a fun and creative way. I chose to take the Picture My Life Happy, Happy Christmas Cards and use them to create some Christmas/holiday greeting cards. You will notice that I did not alter them much, simply trimming them down, adding some embellishments and maybe a sentiment or two. I made ten cards with many more cards left to create additional cards, to insert into pocket pages to preserve my holiday memories, or whatever else I choose to do with them! (I have shared three today and will be sharing more in upcoming posts.)

For this card I stamped the sentiment from the Jolly Holiday stamp set and added Red Enamel Gems.

Here I added Red Enamel Gems and Gold Shimmer Trim.

Three Gold Sequins and some Gold Foil Tape were added to this card.

I love the versatility of our products and this campaign bundle showcases how many of them can be used beyond the obvious. Tomorrow I will post details regarding this campaign and the home decor items only made available for this special, on my website, while supplies last. (They were offered previously but have since been retired so this does provide a unique opportunity to purchase them.) Contact me if you have questions.

I am excited to see what the other Blog Hop participants created with these products so head on over to Melinda's Blog and continue making your way through the artwork. I am sure you will find some fun ideas as you do.

Happy hoppin'!
Melissa

City Sidewalks CRICUT Blog Hop

Thank you for joining us on this Blog Hop as we feature our newest Cricut Collection, City Sidewalks. It is a mini digital collection that contains 30 holiday images you will love.

If you are coming from Cat's Blog, you are on the right track.  You can find a complete list of participants if you click here.

I had such a fun time creating this home decor item to fit an 8" x 10" frame. It has been a big hit for those who have seen it in person and the frame, purchased at Hobby Lobby, was perfect.

After sizing and designing it in Design Space, with the help of my friend, Pamela Thorn, I layered all the pieces together and this was the result. White Glitter Paper was placed behind the snowflake-filled Glacier cardstock (difficult to tell from the photos).

I ended up providing this as a gift at a Stamp Camp I recently attended so I will have to make another for myself. I love being able to create a fun and festive home decor item at a very reasonable price. That is one of the things that drew me to papercrafting. 

Consider letting me know what you think of my artwork before heading on over to Michelle Jones's Blog to see what she created with this City Sidewalks Digital Collection.

Happy hoppin' and remember...Make It From Your Heart!
Melissa

CTMH Christmas Crafts Blog Hop

Welcome to our Blog Hop where we are featuring Christmas Crafts made with Close To My Heart products.  Do you have people on your list who are challenging to buy for?  I do and when that's the case a thoughtful gift, in perfect packaging, usually does the trick in putting a smile on their faces.

If you are coming from Aggie's Blog, you are on the right track. A complete list of participants is provided at the end of this post.  Let's get this fun started!

I fell in love with these Pint Containers when they were first released this summer at Convention.  I decided to pull one out and decorate it for this hop, recognizing they are perfect for filling with goodies - cookies, chocolate, socks, smell goods, etc.  They are a perfect size - not too big and not too small as Goldilocks would say.  There are a variety of ways to decorate these containers.  Because I wanted to cover mine in paper, and they are not a perfect rectangle because of their shape, I decided to take apart one container to make a pattern.  (The pattern will be provided HERE - by noon today CST.  I was forced to cut it into two pieces so you will have two seams, allowing it to print on standard-size paper.)  I traced the pattern in this beautiful B&T paper from our White Pines paper pack.  The stocking was cut from our Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, three times - on Colonial White, Olive cardstock and the chevron patterned paper from White Pines.  The colonial white stocking was used as the base and the other pieces were cut and glued on top.  Green Shimmer Trim was added to the rim of the container, for some sparkle.

For the lid, I took a Cocoa piece of cardstock, cut a circle to fit and ran it through my Cuttlebug using the Dot Embossing Folder.  For the added texture, I distressed it using our Sanding Block (from the Sanding Kit).  The big bow was cut out of Cranberry cardstock, using the Artiste Cricut Cartridge.  A Bling Gold Gem and Gold Shimmer Trim were added, for the finishing touch.  I love how it turned out and cannot wait to fill it and gift it.

If you would like to make one of your own, be sure to grab the pattern above.  I would love to see what you create as well as what you decide to fill it with.  What suggestions do you have for fillings?

Now, how on over to Marianne's Blog to see her fun creation!  Happy hoppin'!

Blog Hop Participants:

1.  Melissa Robinson *YOU ARE HERE*

2.  Marianne Hancock

3.  Melissa David 

4.  Tonya Whitehurst

5.  Katy Taylor

6.  Aggie Peters