2015 March-es on...

It feels like forever since I have posted. I had hoped/planned to make this a weekly thing at least... but the best laid plans and all. Blogging is new to me, and I am attempting to not bite off more than I can chew in one mouthful. So... it will be what it will be. That said...

I've been playing with the Hopscotch papers again. I'm moving towards creating my first CTMH scrapbook layout with the last of the paper pack. But as I was looking at the papers I had left, I realized that I really, REALLY wanted to make some cards with one of the papers. One of my other hobbies is sewing, and as you can see below, the reverse side of this blue paper looks like sewing instructions and pattern pieces. I've been putting this off in favor of making cards that might appeal more people, well, today, I appeal to mmyself and my sewing buddies!

 

So, here are a couple of cards I made today. The one on the right was made with one the Choose Happy bases I had made a couple weeks ago, so I added the cute little whale from the Cuddly Salutations hostess set, and filled it in with Shin Han Touch marker. I think I am finally getting the hang of those, although I still don't feel like I am blending well. I know whales aren't green, but the markers don't have a glacier sort of color...
For the Sew Fabulous card, I used part of the zip strip - "Chalking up a good time". I also used the alphabet letters that come with the Artfully Sent Cricut Collection, and the Fabulous stamp from #30 Years of Happy -National Stamping Month. This card is for a sewing friend who defines especially good times as "beyond fabulous". She'll probably see this, so she'll have to act surprised, lol.

Other materials used are Gold and Black Shimmer Trim, Exclusive inks in Black and Smoothie, Chalk it Up Assortment puffies (these are so cute). Looking at the picture now, I think I will go back and doodle around the outside of the Sew Fabulous card. That should finish it off nicely.

There's just over a week left to get your hands on the Choose Happy Stamp of the Month. AND... the end of March is also the end of Heartstrings items, Hopscotch items, and many other things in the December 2014-March 2015 Seasonal Expressions catalog (look for the little clock). 

Lastly, but certainly not least - March is a fantastic time to sign up to join Close to My Heart as a consultant, or a hobbyist. In addition to the usual incredibly generous starter kit (choose either cardmaking or scrapbooking), you'll receive a great-looking tote bag. And the opportunity to earn a FREE rolling tote worth over $149! 

As one little hint - April is bringing more than spring showers, and Easter - the new Seasonal Expressions catalog is filled with some wonderful and fun papers and stamps and accessories. You may have spotted some spoilers out there, I'm not sharing any (I'm not sure we're really supposed to be doing that yet). But I AM working on them already! And the April Stamp of the Month is fun too, great for making guy and less cutesy cards (for those of you who are not into all the curlicues. Stay tuned!

It's March! Time to "Choose Happy"!

March first! And we’re still up to our eyeballs in snow! (ok, not really that much, but some days it feels like it.) Today, in the Close to My Heart year, marks the day that the new Stamp of the Month becomes available! This month’s offering is called “Choose Happy” and it’s spring-y and precious. 

See how you can get this stamp set for only $5!

At first glance it looks a bit girly, with several curlicue frames, but don’t be fooled! There’s a great all-around useful wood-tone squared one as well for the less frilly folk in your lives. I did my best to show them up in playful, "everybody" ways. I've only played with it with cards so far, as you can see below. I have been helping my daughter get some work done by hanging out and being a helpful grandma while dad is at work in the evenings. Yeah, like hanging out with my only grandchild is Such a hardship… not… lol. Anyway… I do plan to do more with this set soon, in the meantime, check out what I did so far:

The one on the right uses the Hopscotch papers, the Choose Happy Stamp of the Month set, and the Cuddly Salutations hostess stamp set. I used a Shin Han Touch marker to fill in the cutie pie chick to coordinate with the B&T paper. I finished it off with some Gold Shimmer Trim and a couple of Gold Sequins. (Materials used: Exclusive inks in Black and Desert Sand, Shin Han Touch alcohol marker in Light Orange; Hopscotch paper pack, Colonial Whitecardstock, Gold Shimmer Trim, Gold Sequins.)

The card on the left uses the two borders from the Choose Happy set, along with one of the frames and two of the sayings. I also used a saying from the Just to Say stamp set that comes with the Artfully Sent CricutCollection. I finished it off very simply with just a couple pieces of Teal Shimmer Trim. I thought this would make a simple anniversary card. If you look closely, you can see that I used the doodle stamps to border the inside. The next picture shows how the inside looks. (Materials used: Exclusive inks in Black,Lagoon and Sorbet, Black and Daisy White cardstock, Teal Shimmer Trim.)*

*(The white and black shapes I had on hand and just happened to fit nicely. They are cut from the Art Philosophy Cricut Collection. The square frames from the Choose Happy set will fit comfortably on a 2.25 inch square.) 

I have to confess, I am a paper hoarder. Yep, I just love the pretty patterns and when I see it, I imagine all the ways I am going to create with it; but once I get my hands on it, I just can't bear to cut into it. Or if I have more than one sheet of it, I can't bear to cut into the last sheet of it. But I was forever stumbling with coordinating patterns, and ended up using only one pattern per card, and sometimes I felt the colors didn't quite go together. Plus card-stock, and paper are different thicknesses... urgh.

When I joined Close to My Heart, I found to my delight that the company had put together packs with coordinating colors, taking the guesswork out of what went with what. Then they added coordinating additional elements like stickers, gems, ribbon and twine, sequins etc.

But back to my paper hoarding.... I was looking through my stash today, and realized that I have bought several paper packs that CTMH took out of the catalog at the end of last summer. lol And I want to cut into them. But I also really want to play with the new ones and post cards for you all to see. There is not enough time in my days to do all that. So the older stuff is going to have to wait, at least until my next vacation.

I finished up my 15 cards out of the Hopscotch paper pack. I have lots of Hopscotch paper left, I could make at least 15 more cards.

Here are a few of the variations that I came up with as I played with the 15 I did finish:

I did a little paper piecing on the birthday card in the middle back. The little speech bubble on the elephant card is also cut out and pieced over the frame, slightly popped out for just a hint of dimension. It's hard to tell in these photos, I might have to take some close ups and add them later. I did get a little too crazy with the background stamping in one of the foreground cards, that one didn't quite turn out as I'd imagined, but it's a good example of what can go awry. I should have turned over the B&T paper, but I'd already put adhesive on it before I realized it. So I just made the best of it. I'll probably keep that one as an example (of what not to do).

In addition to using the same supplies I listed below, I also used the stamp set Lifting Spirits and the Hostess reward set Cuddly Salutations.