Canadian Blog Hop: May/ June Catalogue Release

 Welcome to our May Blog Hop featuring artwork created using new and fabulous products found in our current catalog. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop!

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to start at the beginning join Michelle. If you came from Brae at "The Brae-er" then you

I am currently obsessed with the "You Are Enough" Paper and butterflies from the National Scrapbooking Month. The papers are stunning with beautiful patterns, and gorgeous rose gold accents. The only thing I still desired is a solid rose gold foil sheet to cut a title out of, but the sticker sheet is still pretty great. Add on my ongoing obsession with hexagons, and anyone who has been following me on Instagram will not be surprised to see this layout... other than the fact I haven't done a layout in forever!!

I created a 2 page layout featuring the large stitched hexagon thin cuts and wanted to create a corner border in opposite corners. I used a variety of the papers to do this, and I am not sure if you can fully appreciate this on the first picture.

There is something about the blue belle shade that attracted me , so I had to add a little more as the backing for photos. I felt like I needed a little more pattern in the back, but couldn't bring myself to cover up some of the paper. I took the stripped piece and cut it in half, so it only was in the open spaces.

I used the stickers for "Believe in Yourself" as a title. Here is a little hack if you are ever struggling with darts: use the hexagon die to do it! A square would also work, but wouldn't be as wide. I finished things off with the rose gold stickers, the butterfly sequins and 3 die cut butterflies.

The bonus card I made was a slim card, with more hexagons  for my amazing grandmother for mothers day. Similar products and techniques.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you love this paper as much as I do!

Your next stop on the Canadian Blog Hop is Kim at Scrappin With Heart . If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S Blog, as she has the complete blog list.

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again for our next hop, July 20th

Cross Canada Blog Hop- September 2020 Featuring Bloom With Grace

 Welcome to our September Blog Hop featuring "Bloom With Grace" Creations. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order. New core and season catty are out for September, so make sure you check all of them out!

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop. You should be joining us from Michelle Stewart's blog, and if you get lost a long the way she also has the master list

So as much as I love sunflowers, and wished that last fall's sunflower set had coordinating die cuts I could not justify buying another set. We will see how long this strength lasts, since the sets are super cute! So this little card features last fall's sunflower set, so please don't be mad. I am still obsessed with hexagons, and sangria ribbon. I am not really ready to move on to fall colours from summer yet, but if I absolutely must, this desert rose is a pretty great colour. 

Product's Used

• Bloom with Grace Paper 
• Desert Rose Cardstock
• Fern Cardstock
• Sangria Ribbon
  
• Canary, fern, expresso and toffee stamp pads
• Stitched Hexagon Thin Cuts
• Wood Grain Embossing Folder

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Pam Furlong

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle's blog as she has the complete blog list.


Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring projects created using the "Lovely" Collection. So mark October 10th on your calendars and hop along with us.

Bonus sunflower vacation selfie taken at "The Chuckwagon" in Orwell PEI. Listen, your burger was great, but that corn maze was intense. BRING BACK YOUR RIBS CRAZY PEOPLE!

September 2020 SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring September's SOTM, which is Here for the Memories, a set of 13 stamps.  If you have come here from Kathy Burrow's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog. 

This month we have Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go! Don't forget to go check out ALL the new Core and Seasonal Goodies that just became available today. You will be wowed is all I can say.

Hello, welcome to my blog and happy September!!! The summer flew by even with all the crazy going on and me having a heavy teaching load in the fall. I had great intentions that this was going to be a double page layout of my friends and I playing "Settlers of Catan" with lots of amazing hexagons, more colours, and all that jazz. However time got away from me, and without the full craft room arsenal, the idea seemed daunting. I thought I could scale my idea down for what I had with me, and created a cute little hexagonal card that gets the point across. This is a very scrapbooker oriented stamp, but with a little creativity, can be used for other things!

Products Used

• Hexagon stitched thin cuts (I didn't bring my die cutting machine to the cottage, so I just traced!)
• Lagoon, mint, white daisy, lemonade and nectarine card stock scraps
• Wooden Buttons
• Journaling Pen

If you are like me, you are not ready for summer to be over at all. We are enjoying the last few weeks of the summer at the family cottage, and this was my view as I sat reading text books earlier this week. Hope everyone is safe, happy, healthy and getting crafty.

Now "Hop" on over to Brenda Lapps's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the August SOTM is only available until August 31st!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Dealing with Scraps Part 1/ Atlantic Hearts Sketch 382

If you are anything like me you are obsessed with patterned paper and want to hoard every scrap. I have done several posts about this before, but I definitely need to get more serious about practicing what I preach. So here are some things to consider before you pull out a new pack. 

1) Start with a "fresh desk". Do a quick stock of what is on your desk, and does it need to be there? For me this is a huge challenge, but I also know "out of sight, out of mind", so I am adjusting my scrap system into 3 piles. 

• Pile 1: Anything bigger than 6" by 8" goes back in the envelope with the rest of the patterned paper it coordinates with to be used on another project
  
  
• Pile 2: Card stock pieces that are midsize stay on my desk in the paper tray where I can see what it is, and use it up. I like to pull out patterned paper from this and challenge myself to create something with it. It is a great jumping off point.
  
  
• Pile 3: I have a small bin of paper that is big enough to die cut, create a small mat or stamp on, small mats or just add some interest. This bin should be regularly emptied (I will may some suggestions of simple ways to use things below, there are also a lot of amazing videos on Youtube)

2) Use it before you lose it!: I am notorious for creating one project out of a paper pack, then leaving it full of coordinating scraps, so lately I have been challenging myself to use an entire pack before I move on to something new. It takes some time, and if you have been following my Instagram you will see that almost everything I have posted lately has been from Summer Vibes. You will see some projects below of me trying to not have much left on my desk and there will be several more coming.

3) Sketches can help: So in a stroke of fortune, I was working on some "sunburst" designs to use up some 2" by 3" bits and got the notification for Atlantic Hearts Sketch 382 Challenge. There are many sketches available online as well as lots of card ideas in "Make it From Your Heart" Idea books. Cards using up far less paper than layouts, so you can usually get at least 3 double page layouts plus a good number of cards from a CTMH paper pack+ Coordinating cardstock, you just have to be creative. The other thing you may want to search for are "One Page Wonder" Card designs with cutting diagrams.

Some ways I use up smaller scraps: 

1. Triangle mosaics (these are all sunburst, but it doesn't have to be). These happen to be my submission for AHS 382 and the only one of these I have a decent image for.
   
   
   
   
2. Mosaic style backgrounds from die cut scraps. 
   
   
1. Try to stick with geometric shapes that you can piece together well
2. Can do for cards OR layouts, depending on volume
   
   
   
3. Add some texture to change things up, and then die cut 
   
   
   
4. Piece scraps together on a base, and die cut those. 

I will do more posts of cards made as I clean up piles, but for now I would love to hear how you all use up scraps! What are your favorite ways? Thanks for stopping by, and happy crafting.

August Cross Canada Blog Hop- Timber

Welcome to our August Blog Hop featuring Timber Creations. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order. New core and season catty are coming for September, so make sure you order all the things you love now!

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop. You should be joining us from Michelle Stewart's blog, and if you get lost a long the way she also has the master list

This card looks pretty simple gate fold card, but it has a surprise! I was inspired by a Youtube video by Jennifer McGuire to create this. So instead of just a single overlapped piece to close the card, there is a sentiment block hidden underneath!

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Pam Furlong

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle's blog as she has the complete blog list.


Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring projects created using the coming soon "Bloom with Grace" Collection (You all are NOT ready for the level of fabulous, so make sure you have something soft for you jaw to drop on when you see the new catties!!!). So mark September 10th on your calendars and hop along with us.

Atlantic Hearts Sketch 380 Challenge

Hi Friends,

I had some issues with scheduled posts, and the post reverting to previous drafts so I thought I would run a little test post. Bear with me if anything strange happens!

I thought this week I would use a sketch for some inspiration, and I would love if people would join in playing. This one if from the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge who post new sketches weekly to help people get crafty.

Since I already had some of Close to My Heart's featured paper pack of the month open on my desk (Timber), I thought I would use a little of it. If you would like more inspiration, stay tuned for this month's Cross Canada Blog Hop on August 10th. Also keep in mind that this is the last month for not only the current 2019/2020 Core Catty, but also the Seasonal Catty that this paper is from. Make sure you order soon if you have anything left on your wish list!

If you have been following me lately on Facebook/ Instagram (@colleenscraftyconstructions) you will probably have noticed that I haven't been into creating scrapbook layouts, so this is another card. It uses CTMH Value pack cards as the base, and then all sorts of flannel papers. Initially I had in some wood grain paper instead of the plain brown, but a little bit more texture was needed to balance out all the intense patterns. 

I wasn't super excited about this paper initially, so I didn't purchase any of the coordinating stamp sets since I couldn't see myself getting a lot of use from them. Instead I used the "Channel the flannel" sticker from the coordinating sticker sheet, so this card is pretty masculine but still suitable for a variety of occasions. 

Thanks for stopping by!

August SOTM Blog Hop- Floral Celebration

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring August's SOTM, which is Floral Celebration, a set of stamps.  If you have come here from Brandi Robinson's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog:  http://ifyoublingit.blogspot.com/p/stamp-of-month-blog-hop-list.html. 

This month we have Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I am really loving the colour scheme from the Summer Vibes paper pack (Fern, Smoothie, Candy Apple, Nectarine, Lemonade, Glacier) so that was what I drew on here. I did a lot of stamping, but my advice is start with the biggest flowers, and work your way down. The other thing you will notice is that I tried to create visual triangles of flower types (and colours since each flower was made the same). This helps give some movement on a potentially busy card. The black is Intense Black so that you can colour with alcohol markers  and not have smearing (I had a little early, so I did stop and heat set).

Once I was done colouring, I used the Alphabet Thin Cut dies to cut out "Hello". Make sure you use a ruler to get these straight (mine is, despite the angle of the photo)!! Then use some foam tape to pop up the letters. It is subtle but I love the impact. The background cardstock is Smoothie as well, since I didn't have a coordinating marker, and love the colour.

Products Used

• White Daisy/ Smoothie Cardstock
• Intense Black, Smoothie, Candy Apple, Fern, Nectarine, Lemonade and Glacier Inks
• Shin Han Markers (Red, Ice Grey, Orange, Citrus, Dull Green, Earth Brown)
• Glue Pen
• 3D Foam Tape (Needed to be squares, not circles!
• Block Alphabet Thin Cuts

Now "Hop" on over to Haley Dyer's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the August SOTM is only available until August 31st!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Cross Canada Blog Hop Summer Vibes

Welcome to our July Blog Hop featuring Summer Vibes Creations. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order. This is the last of our 2019/2020 new catalogs, with the new 2 month model. A new core catty is coming for August!


We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop. You should be joining us from Michelle Stewart's blog, and if you get lost a long the way she also has the master list

This card features the Summer vibes Cardmaking Stamp set/ thin cuts. I coloured the fish with shimmer brushes, and then used the Dreamy holographic paper to create some bubbles. To stamp on holographic paper you can use Staz-on ink, just be careful to give it a few minutes to dry before you touch it. I added a few sequins and covered the holes with bitty sparkle bling. It is a little hard to see that I used the wave patterned paper from the pack, but I did.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Pam Furlong

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle's blog as she has the complete blog list.


Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring projects created using the coming soon "Summer Vibes" Collection. So mark August 10th on your calendars and hop along with us.

Stitched Together Cross Canada Blog Hop- June

Welcome to our June Blog Hop featuring Stitched Together Creations. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order. This is the 4th of our new catalogs, with the new 2 month model.

Sorry I missed the past 2 hops, life kept getting crazy! I was super excited about Seas the Day paper pack, and I have barely played with it.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop. You should be joining us from Michelle Stewart's blog, and if you get lost a long the way she also has the master list

I wasn't super excited when I first saw this paper pack and I am not sure why. Once I actually had it hand it is actually really pretty, and my least paper is on the back of my fav! Happy coincidence. I challenged myself to make a more masculine and a feminine card, so here are 2 projects. Also know that BOTH projects were made with the leftovers from the National Scrapbooking Day layouts, so if you have some...

This first card uses the stamp/ thincut set I am most excited about from this catalog, which is the Stitched Together Cardmaking Set. I wanted to add some dimension so I actually stacked all sorts of the happy cuts on top of each other, and used some black velvet ribbon behind the "everything" sentiment. I stuck to the candy

My second card I did use the stiched square thincuts, and some lagoon ribbon from ages past (I admit, I didn't want to cut more lagoon paper, but it bothered me too much that it was the same height as the square!), and some candy apple enamel dots left over from the holidays! The stamp is Be Kind, which I think is so important to remember, especially right now. The embossing folder is the Flower Garden.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is our fearless leader, Brae Montgomery

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle's blog as she has the complete blog list.


Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring projects created using the coming soon "Summer Vibes" Collection. So mark July10th on your calendars and hop along with us.

PS I have been playing in the scrap room a lot during quarantine, so here is a bonus weird card of SHARKS IN SPACE (All CTMH product!!). I am really obsessed with inking/ painting galaxy backgrounds, and if you have been around a while at one point we had a shimmer acrylic paint. The sharks are all cricut cuts, with Liquid Glass helmets, and everyone knows, their ship would be a submarine. It's just science (trust me I am a doctor... of engineering). I cut that out of the amazing holographic paper

Yesterday and Today Cross Canada Blog Hop

Welcome to our March Blog Hop featuring Yesterday and Today Creations. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order. This is the third of our new catalog, with the new 2 month model.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop. You should be joining us from Michelle Stewart's blog, and if you get lost a long the way she also has the master list

I usually am super keen to create archival or historic photo layouts, which this paper pack is perfect for but this time of year I am struggling with the winter blahs I guess, and wished for a little more colour. So I used that as a jumping off point; add a little colour to some sort of interesting fold to spice things up. My card base is 4 1/4 by 11 inches, with the gates scored at 2 3/4 from each edge. I do really like the Cardmaking Set from this collection. The leaves are made with scraps of sweet leaf and evergreen still on my desk from holiday cards, with the flower on sugarplum. I wanted to highlight the beautiful gold shades from the papers without using the foil chipboard and making the card heavy, so there is a little bit of gold paper behind the sentiment, and then I used the medium embossing pen to add some gold embossing powder to the flower.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Brandi at Crazy4Scrapbooking

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle's blog as she has the complete blog list.


Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring projects created using the coming soon "Seas the Day" Collection. So mark April 10th on your calendars and hop along with us.

Cedar and Pine Cross Canada Blog Hop

Welcome to our December Blog Hop featuring Cedar and Pine Creations. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order. This is the second of our new catalog, with the new 2 month model. If  you like these (or last month's Holly Jolly) and haven't purchased enough yet, they are only available until the end of the month!

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop


If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning .... OH WAIT... We miss Michelle already.. too much pressure! So if you get lost along the way, go check in with Brandi, or keep clicking until you are back here again.

I definitely wanted to have some great layouts done since both holiday packs are phenomenal. However, I have been looking for jobs, ran a bunch of card and tag classes and well, actually want to get Christmas cards out to family and friends... I didn't get them mailed last year, so since they were all blank I donated them to the Sea Cadet unit I grew up in and there are bidding wars going on, which is a nice feeling.

Long story short, you get to see the window card I did for my "Fancy Card" Class for my more advanced (and patient) customers. There are too many amazing holiday stamp sets this year, so I combined 2: the Cedar and Pine Cardmaking with the amazeballs nutcracker, and Merry Christmas Tree. I have used both for several types of cards this year, with a ton of different colour combinations. I think the favorite trick I used was colouring with shimmer brushes, especially the black. It just adds a really subtle bit of shimmer, with such deep colour. I am a glitter fiend, but am working on "less is more" since no one wants a glitter lap when they open cards. I did add some bling around the window to bring focus to the tree. This card is 5 by 7 which is a little bigger than normal, but the space was needed.

Some tips and tricks for window and stamping placement.

• Put the paper on the front of your card first (you will have to add more glue around the window most likely, but trust the process). Don't put anything else on the front yet. 
• Stamp.the inside of the window, and then position your oval thin cut (with the cut part facing up) over top. I had people use some washi to grab the front of the card when it closed up, then added some more. If you are a craftaholic and have a magnetic plate, that would be super easy too. 
• Run it through your die cutting machine with the card open, depending on how thick the front is, you may have to do a few passes.
• Now you can finish adding to the rest of your card
• If you are better at erasing pencil than I am, you could definitely just cut the oval window, mark the widest points inside, then stamp but I tend to be too heavy handed. The stamp is just a tiny little bit bigger than the window, so you can't just stamp through it in this case. 

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is the lovely Rosalynd at My Stamping Room

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Brandi's blog, as she has the complete blog list.


Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring projects created using the coming soon "Spruced Up" Collection. So mark January 10th on your calendars and hop along with us.

September Cross Canada Blog Hop- Every Little Thing

Welcome to our September Blog Hop featuring Every Little Thing Creations. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order. This is the first of our new catalog, with the new 2 month model.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop


If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Michelle Stewart at her blog . If you came from there, you are on the right track

I haven't gotten a lot of scrapping or creating in general done over the summer, so it was nice to finally get back into it. Hopefully I will now have more time to dedicate to my customers! Oh except for that pesky "I don't have a job yet" thing... well I have a part time one, but need to work on something more long term. I thought if I was getting in the craft room, I should go big and do a double page layout (look I almost even have watermarks working!).

This pattern is from Make it from Your Heart Volume 3, and is layout 9. I didn't actually move too much around, but I really liked the accents across the whole left of the page, so I copied it using butterflies!! There are 3 types; the plastic ones that come with the workshop kit (coloured with purple alcohol marker, yeah it totally stays on plastic!), the paper die cut ones from the workshop kit which I accented with some bitty bling and of course the die cut ones from the card kit. To mellow and not have the overpower the pictures, they are layered with the lighter tone of the cardstock, with silver heat embossed vellum. Be really careful when heating vellum, have your heat gun hot and move on and off so that there isn't any warping.

Left Page (how cute are they?!?!)

Right Page, I used some stickers from the kit (optional now BTW), and the floral border is cut with the border die set.

Just a little closeup of the right side cluster, with a few pearls (which you can also colour with alcohol marker if you wanted to).

Thank you so much for stopping by. Hopefully I will be able to participate in more hops now that I have finished my PhD... Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Sheena at KanataNewf Papercrafts


If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S blog, as she has the complete blog list.


Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring projects created using the "Hawthorne" Collection. So mark October 10th on your calendars and hop along with us.

April Cross Canada Blog Hop- Feels Like Home

Welcome to our April Blog Hop featuring artwork created using Feels Like Home collection. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.


We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop!


If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Michelle at Creations by Michelle. If you came from there, you are in the right place!

This month I needed a card that was worthy of the 91st Birthday of my amazing grandmother. I decided I wanted a pop up inside, and off to pinterest I went. This inside was pretty straight forward once you did a little playing, and can be found here  The base of my card is sugarplum cardstock, with the inside simple white daisy. I used the scallop embossing folder on mink cardstock, then used the Love in Bloom Layering stamp set with layers in archival black, sugarplum, sapphire (1st and 2nd generation), fern and new england ivy. This was cut out using oval die cuts, and I tucked some water coloured die cuts behind.

On the inside, I used the large scallop from the Border thin cuts to spice up the edges. The stamps are fussy cut out, and I shaded in the leaves and such using a water brush and ink pads. To make the sentiments pop up, I stamped them, and then on the back there are 2 scraps of paper that are glued down each side of the fold. I didn't take a proper picture of how I did that, apologies. It was not the best solution, as it does allow everything to fold up, but it doesn't pop up perfectly when the card is opened. You have to help them a little.

My grandmother seemed to like the card, so that is the main thing! Hope you like it too.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Sheena at KanataNewf.

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S Blog, http://mycreationswithmichelle.blogspot.ca, as she has the complete blog list. (Please link this to my Deep URL)


Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring artwork using the (BRAND SPANKING NEW) Sweet Girl collection. So mark May 10th on your calendars and hop along with us.

March Cross Canada Blog Hop: So Much Happy

Welcome to our March Blog Hop featuring artwork created using So Much Happy collection. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.
We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop!

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Michelle Stewart at Michelle's Creations. If you came from there, then you are in the right place! 

I totally bummed all my supplies for this card from Michelle Stewart, because I was not on the ball enough to get the deluxe workshop kit with the butterflies before they sold out the first time. I have them now though! For my card I used the butterflies with the die cuts and they are stamped on vellum using the archival black (I did heat set before colouring). I then coloured on the back with the Shin Han Markers. I didn't want the colours on them to overwhelm which is why I did it on the back. I also left some white daisy cardstock on the back so they didn't have too much transparency. They are curved a little, but you can't really tell from the pictures.

This card shape is quick and easy to make, it is a 12"x 5.5"  piece of paper that I scored, then measured down equal distances to get the angles. The little blossoms are in ballerina, and cut with  the border thin cuts. I layered up some paper, and hid one of the butterflies inside. 

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Dominique of Fun2cre8
If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S Blog, as she has the complete blog list.

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring artwork using Feels Like Home collection. So mark April 10th on your calendars and hop along with us.

June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop- A Bushel and a Peck

Hello and Welcome to this month's Stamp Of the Month Blog Hop. If you are arriving here from Gina's Blog, then you are in the right place! We have fabulous creations from 20 consultants to show you this month's featured stamp set: A Bushel and a Peck. As per normal, if you see something you like, please comment, and then contact your Close to My Heart Consultant to hook you up with that product! If you spend over $50 Canadian, this little cutie can be yours for just $6!!!

So now to get down to my creation. I did a fancy fold step card with a template I found on Pinterest.

I used our Shin-Han Markers to colour the girl and fruit, then fussy cut things out. I used some scraps from the Central Park Paper packet as I loved the colours.





Laying down flat, it does fit in a standard 4.25 by 5.5 inch envelop too!!!



When standing there are some bonus folds I decorated up for a little oomph  (Wowza, spell check did not like my initial go at that one!).

Now from the side, you can really see the folds.










From here, you are going to run off to check out the lovely Krista Hershberger! Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have an awesome June. Don't forget your sunscreen.

1. Catherine Nowak
2. Wendy Kessler
3. Melinda Everitt
4. Michelle Stewart
5. Melissa Robinson
6. Brenda Lapp
7. Michelle Loncar
8. Jean McNulty
9. Katy Taylor
10. Brandi Robinson
11. Darlys Recker
12. Michelle Johns
13. Gina Brandstetter
14. Colleen Dewis- HEY!! That's me!! You are already here...why not leave a comment?
15. Krista Hershberger
16. Haley Dyer
17. Shelly Mendenhall
18. Alayne Fleming
19. Kathy Burrows
20. Vickie ODell

May Cross Canada Blog Hop- Celebrating Relationships

Hello and Thanks for joining us on the Cross Canada Blog Hop

Welcome to our May Blog Hop featuring artwork inspired by Celebrating Relationships. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order. 

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop!

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Michelle. If you came from there, you are in the right spot!


I am loving the new SE2 papers, and the Documented line really seemed fit well with these pictures of my family checking out the "Gospel Brunch" at the Trailside Cafe in PEI. I liked the doors, bricks and muted flower colours really complemented the decor, and highlighted some of the colours in the artwork. All the bling and the wooden "smile" are from the Documented Workshop on the Go, although the New England Ivy Cardstock is from the Cardstock Compliments for the line. The layout itself is from Make it From Your Heart Volume 2.


Left Page



Right Page



Slightly crooked pages together. Notice how I took pictures of the outside sign and chalkboard to remind me where we were.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Sheena at KanataNewf - Time Well Wasted

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S Blog,  as she has the complete blog list.

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring artwork . So mark June 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

April Stamp of the Month "Colour Your Life" Blog Hop

Hi everyone. This is my first time joining the stamp of the month blog hop, and I managed to somehow delete the post I had ready to go up. This will be the abridged version! You should be joining me from Gina Brandstetter's blog so hopefully you are in the right place.

I am working on an album for an old friend who is getting ready to have her first baby. I thought the "Celebrate Life" stamp would make a lovely title page for that. I have combined it with the Whimsy Fundamentals and Cardstock, with some cricut cuts from both the Artbooking (border) and Flower Market (Wreath) cartridges. I thought that the triple stamping look of the flowers from "Beautiful You" would really add to that wreath, and to add an extra bit, some use 3d Dots, and have some of the shimmer brushed glitter on them.

From here you are heading over to check out what Michelle Johns has created for us. Enjoy the hop, and thank you for stopping by!

March Cross Canada Blog Hop

Welcome to our March Blog Hop featuring artwork inspired by What we Love about Spring. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.
We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop!

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Michelle at My Creations By Michelle. If you came from there, then you are in the right place!


I am not mentally ready for spring yet, even though for the most part the weather here in Halifax has been lovely. I thought today I would show you a card I made for a baby shower, since spring= new beginnings to me. This hop has also reminded my I REALLY need to get my seeds for the garden started or we will have another summer of sad tiny peppers. 

As you may have realized from previous hops, I am a little weird and not super traditional. I had this idea in my head that we had a stamp set that doesn't totally exist, so I sort of made something close to it instead of risking something crazy like hand lettering, or trying to do the whole thing in letter stamps. (That is a terrible sentence, apologies grammar nerds). I used some of the paper bits I had left over on my desk from the "Make Waves" paper packet, the heart dies that I showed last month, and the stamp out of the "Something Magical" Card kit. I then cut the word "creating" out of  "Creating To Create" and sort of jammed it in. Probably not my best work, but it will make my friend laugh at least. I cut the sentiment out with our old scallop circle punch (I thought it was still a thing... sorry). I then coloured a few words to highlight them with the alcohol markers and I used the clear shimmer brush on 'magical'. I added the shimmer trims that match Make waves, and stamped the pretty filigree border in between. It is also from the Something Magical card kit set. 

Thank you for hopping by, I hope my card at least makes you giggle a little. Up next for the Cross Canada Hop you are going to head over to Ontario to check out Brae's Creation and I am sure she has something lovely and sensible for you to look at.


If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S Blog, as she has the complete blog list. 

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring Celebrations. So mark April 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

February Cross Canada Blog Hop- Love and Friendships

Welcome to our February Blog Hop featuring artwork inspired by Love and Friendships. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.
We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop!

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Michelle at Creations with Michelle. If you came from there then you are in the right place!

I am not super into Valentines Day, but I am in to puns, so when I saw the "We Belong Together" Stamp set I was inspired. I will be totally honest, this was a 10 card set with 2 of each design. As you can see there are only 4 cards pictured. My desk ate 1 of the designs, and I only had time for a cursory clean. All of the card patterns are out of the new "Make it From Your Heart Volume 4" Card map idea book and use Enchantment Fundamentals and cardstock. Images were stamped in Memento Black in, then coloured with our Shin-Han Alcohol Markers. I added a little water colouring around the bees because I found the marker very harsh. The hearts are the "Basic Heart" dies, with a little bit of shimmer trim.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Nicky  of  Simply Artistic.
If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S Blog, http://mycreationswithmichelle.blogspot.ca, as she has the complete blog list.

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring What we love about Spring. So mark March 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.