Heart 2 Heart Challenge: "What a Wonderful World"

Welcome to this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge where we are creating and sharing artwork to align with the theme, "What a Wonderful World". Please consider linking up to us at H2H by using Close To My Heart products in your creation.

For the card I am sharing, I used a pocket card from the Some Kinda Wonderful paper packet. The card is the light pink focal point area you see, with the cat, turtle and bird. I simply added a few additional components, and layered it on black cardstock and the white card base, to provide some dimension.

"Thinking of You", in the sentiment, came from the "Happy to Be Friends" stamp set. "Sending Happy Thoughts" came from the exclusive stamp set included with the Flower Marker Cricut Collection. (This stamp set is one of my favorites.)

The Cherry Pink Shin Han Marker was used to color in the White Dots. For a special added touch, I decided to add a Purple Heart Enamel Gem on the cat's ID tag.

I enjoyed putting this card together, using some scraps. I hope it brings some happy to the person who will be the recipient.

Have a blessed day and don't forget to connect with us at Heart 2 Heart! I look forward to seeing your artwork!

DIY: A Nugget of Fun!

I am excited to join "Blog with Friends" this month as we focus on blog posts with the theme, "Green". At the bottom of this post you will find links to their blogs. I encourage you to visit their sites to enjoy seeing what they have to share with you.

I am totally excited about what I have to share with you today because these projects are super fun, super simple to recreate, and super yummy; a great combination. They make for great and cost effective gift items for anyone. Obviously these are perfect for St. Patrick's Day goodies but are also great for any time of the year; gifts for teachers, neighbors, co-workers, Mother's Day, etc.

This handmade chocolate box, made from a 5 3/4" x 5 3/4" piece of patterned paper and 4 " x 4" piece of Clear Memory Protector (the clear cover), can be made in a matter of a few minutes. Seriously. You can choose your preference of candy (chocolate ranks highest on my list), tie it off with a ribbon and bow, and add a small gift tag. (This gift tag came from the March Stamp of the Month, "Tea-rrific".) (I will post a video of me making this box, next week so be sure to check back then. Consider subscribing to my Blog so you are notified on all future posts. In the meantime, I have provided a link to some basic directions that makes reference to a website that has step-by-step instructions.)

I enjoy making 3" x 3" cards to include with gifts. They are super easy to assemble and are cute! The patterned paper is from our Adventure Fundamentals paper packet. Black cardstock was added for contrast. Black ink was used to stamp the focal point and sentiment with the ShinHan markers used to color the image and White Dots. Black and gold ribbon was used from the Uptown Ribbon Pack.

I used the Some Kind of Wonderful stamp set for the stamped images and sentiments.

These are the fun variety of cards I was able to quickly duplicate based on the first design. Don't you just love how everything coordinates? I do! LOL

See anything you like? I would appreciate you sharing the content or image through social media.

Continue checking out the "Green" blog posts as referenced in the visual and links provided below.

"Baking In a Tornado" - Green, Egg, and Ham

"Cluttered Genius" - What To Do With All Those Old Crayons

"Eileen's Perpetually Busy" - Graduation Cap Ice Cream Cake

"Little Mama Jama" - Mint Mocha Cupcakes

"The Lieber Family" - 10 Ways to Add More Green to Your Pot of Gold

"Confessions of a Part-Time Working Mom" - Leprechaun Craft

"Spatulas on Parade" - Green Bunny Poop

"Think in English" - ESL Vocabulary Strategies

Have a blessed week and always be sure to...Make It From Your Heart!

Seasonal Expressions 1 NEW Product Blog Hop

It's a great time of the year...not only because it is the start of a new chapter in our lives...but because Close To My Heart has NEW PRODUCTS! That is something BIG for papercrafters to celebrate, like you and me. ;)

We have a new supplemental catalog, called Seasonal Expressions, that is 60+ pages of goodness to include new paper, stamp sets, artwork and more! (The front cover is pictured above.) Get in your comfy space for a moment, with your fave drink, and peruse the pages online (or contact me if you would like a hard copy sent to you) and then check out all of our artwork showcasing what you see. You will love everything! I am already a bit addicted but don't tell anyone... 

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

Realizing the fox image is pretty popular these days... Okay, who am I kidding? You see them everywhere! LOL I decided to use it on my card and pulled paper from the Hello Lovely (fan pattern on far left) and Dreamin' Big (pieces on fox) packs, as well as Sea Glass cardtock, for my artwork. I also added some of the heart-patterned washi tape from Sugar Rush and ribbon from the Uptown Ribbon Pack.

This stamp set, Some Kinda Wonderful - Cardmaking, was used for both the fox and the sentiment. I used a Cuttlebug to create diecuts for those images (indicated with blue around them).

Here is what the Thin Cut images look like; a solid image of the stamp design.

How to paper-piece:

To create the fox as you see on the card... I actually cut two of them, one on White Daisy and the other on patterned paper. 

Then I cut out the areas of the fox, as you see here, and glued them onto the white image. This technique is called "paperpiecing" and is a fun way to add "texture" to your stamp images.

Pretty cool, huh? The sentiment provides for a variety of reasons to celebrate. What do you think of my card?

Head on over to Gina's Blog to see what she has created using new product! I am totally excited to make the hop myself to check out everyone's creativity.

Happy hoppin'!