Stamping fun!

Today is a bit on the hot side - around 30 degrees C so I spent a bit of time in front of the fan doing some stamping. I had bought a stamp set from Close to my Heart called Brushstrokes (C1608) and I wanted to do some experimenting with it. The three cards below are the result of my experiments!

For this card, I chose five different inks to stamp the brushstroke - Chocolate, Desert Sand, Autumn Terracotta, Goldrush and Honey. The sentiment is from D1653 Happy Everything (CTMH) and was stamped using Chocolate.

The top layer of the card is attached to a dark brown layer to provide some contrast. 

For this card, I used Indian Carn Blue and Sapphire ink to stamp the background - the contrast does not show up so well in the photo, unfortunately.

The sentiments are from D1653, Happy Everything (CTMH).

The background layer on the front of this card was stamped using Whisper, Pixie and Glacier in a random pattern all over the card.

The flowers were stamped using Pixie and Pear.

Stamp sets used were: C1608 - Brushstrokes; C1612 - Shower Flowers; M1123 - Feel Better, and A1170 - Doodled Designs.


The following supplies I used are still available at my Close to my Heart Shop (click on the CTMH link on the sidebar!):
Exclusive Ink Pads: Sapphire, Whisper, Pixie, Glacier, Pear, Chocolate, Desert Sand, Goldrush, Honey.
Stamp sets: C1608 Brushstrokes; C1612 Shower Flowers; M1123 Feel Better; A1170 Doodled Designs.

Love you a Latte

It is time for another post over at Paper Crafting World.

This time, I have taken one of the beautiful digital images from the collection over at Paper Crafting World. This image - the bear - was printed and cut using the print to cut feature on Design Space and my Cricut Explore. I printed the image as an outline then coloured it using Copic markers. The next step was to take it back to the Cricut and cut it out - which of course, it did perfectly. The letters were also cut out.

I used a take-out coffee cup outline from the Design Space library to create a card, then attached the letters and the bear. I used foam dots to lift the bear and add dimension to the card.

To finish it off, I added some glossy accents to the heart and the eyes of the bear. It makes them just pop off the card!

The bear file is available here.
 
There is still a sale happening over at Paper Crafting World, so do go over there and have a good browse around. There are some gorgeous cutting files and digital files available.

Don't forget the monthly challenge - Anything Goes with an optional twist - use a heart!

Hearts

It is my turn again to post over at Paper Crafting World.

Today I have two cards for you - the first is the Cascading hearts card which is available here. I decided to cut it all in the same cardstock to show how effective the tone-on-tone technique can be.

I embossed alternate layers using the Swiss Dots folder from Provocraft and layered up each layer using foam dots of varying thicknesses to create dimension.

To finish the card, I added some red bling to the right hand side of the card and stamped a sentiment, which I attached using glue and foam dots.

The second card  is the same cutting file Larelyn used in yesterday's post.

Instead of colours, I used black, white and red. The effect is totally different from that produced in Larelyn's design.

I stamped a word stamp on the heart and heat embossed it with detail silver to add another dimension to the card.

The cutting files for both of these cards are still available at a discounted price over at Paper Crafting World.


Please join in our challenge for this month! Look forward to seeing lots of entries.

Water Colour Resist

One of the on-line groups I belong to (Crafty NZ Card Makers)  has a monthly swap where we send a card to one of the other members of the group. The theme for the swap this month is water colour resist so I got out my Close to my Heart stamps and water colours and had a play. Very pleased with the result!

I stamped the top layer (water colour card from CTMH) using one of the stamps from the Brushstrokes set (C608) and Versamark ink, then used clear embossing powder to create the resist.

I used a wash of four different colours to create the background. I wanted it to be quite pastel so added extra water to the paints.

I then stamped the balloons and sentiments onto the top layer using Black Archival ink. These stamps are from the Happy Everything set (D1653).

To finish the card, I layered the top layer onto pale blue card then attached it to the base card, adding a blue ribbon before sticking it down.

I really need to keep using these watercolour paints as they tone perfectly with the CTMH range of cardstock and are so easy to use without getting too messy.

Lovely Layout for Paper Crafting World

The challenge this month over at Paper Crafting World is Anything Goes and the optional twist is to include a snowflake. Well, here in New Zealand at the moment, there is no snow (thank goodness) because it is the middle of summer and the temperature today was 28 degrees C!

So my contribution today reflects where I am  and has lovely flowers instead of snowflakes. I chose the Layout 614 cutting file from PCW and cut it using my Cricut Explore. I used a variety of cardstock from Close to my Heart including Colonial White, pomegranate and pixie.  I added perfect pearls liquid to the centres of the flowers.

I love the way the branches curve around the photo mat to emphasise the focal point of the layout!

The stamp used is a sentiment from a CTMH set - Your own kind of wonderful, which is still available for purchase from your CTMH consultant - Melin if you are in the USA and myself if you are in New Zealand!

Don't forget to visit the other posts by the talented design team this month!

Valentine Card

Hello again!
Today I wanted to share with you the card I made using the cutting file from Paper Crafting World available here. This week the cutting file is available for just $1.

For this card I used a white daisy base card, black layers, white daisy layers and pomegranate layers. All the card is from the Close to My Heart range.
The chevron striped card is from the La Vie en Rose collection also available from CTMH. The sentiment on the heart is from this mon th's Stamp of the Month - Beloved Bouquet available until 31 January from CTMH.

All layers were cut using the svg file and my Cricut Explore.

To complete the card I added some bling on the heart shape and the corner of the card.

This is a lovely simple design but so effective when it is put together. It would look lovely in other colour schemes as well.

Do go over to Paper Crafting World and check out the beautiful designs - cutting files, digital images and scrapbook layouts. There is a special on at the moment as well! Check out our challenge for this month as well.

Almost Christmas Again!

Festive Greetings to all my blogging friends!

Today's PCW contribution is a gorgeous Bear in a Stocking image that I used with the Print to Cut feature on my Cricut Explore. I have had my Explore for almost a year and I have used it almost every day since I have had it - except for the times when I have been away from home!

 I sized the image so the main image in the set was 3 1/2" and then I printed the entire set of images.

When the print was completed, I cut the image using the explore and you can see from the close-up photo below, that the cut is extremely good.

I added glitzy pen to some of the features on the images, such as the outside of the bows and ribbons, the candy cane and the stocking. I added liquid glass to the eyes and nose to make them stand out.

When I had completed the process of layering the bear using foam tape, I decided to put him on the outside of a gift box I had made recently from a Cricut Cartridge - CTMH Artiste. The box is approximately 2 3/4" square and will hold loads of Hershey's Kisses! I added some gold tape to the top and bottom of the box.

I hope this inspires you to explore the Print to Cut files on PCW here.

I wish you all a happy holiday season and look forward to being with you again in January, 2016!