TABH Challenge 23

Welcome to the Three Amigos Blog Hop. We are three friends with a love for stamping and paper crafting, and would like to share our creative ideas with you on the 3rd of each month. There are only three stops on this hop, so it will only take a few minutes to hop through. When you finish hopping, be sure to check out the Three Amigos Blog Hop Challenge!

We have an Inspiration Photo Challenge for you this month. I received an email from Pier1 at the beginning of the year and fell in love with the colors and patterns in this photo.

See what I mean?!? I love the pillow design and the touches of gold, so I added those elements to my layout. (I apologize for the coloring in the photo. The gold in the "Love" title reflected color onto the background. I didn't notice until I uploaded the photo to edit.)

I pulled out several retired products from my stash to use along with a few current products. The three main colors are Sapphire, Glacier, and Sorbet. Have you figured out how I created my flowers and leaves yet?

The flowers are die cut from a combination of a stitched scallop edge die and a stitched oval die. I cut the scallop first, then positioned the oval to turn it into a flower. The leaves use the Stitched Quilted Shapes Thin Cuts. I added a stitched look to the stems with one of the Stitched Border Thin Cuts.

Some of the dies only pierce the stitch marks (the images without grey shadowing in the photo above). I used the die with the three loops toward the bottom of the photo and fussy cut the center loop for the leaves. This was a great way to use up scraps!

Thanks for hopping by today! Hop over to Lisa's Blog and Donna's Blog to see what they created for you, then over to the Three Amigos Blog Hop Challenge. We hope you play along!

Supplies Used:

CC2193 Heart Happy Paper Packet

X7241C So Much Happy Compliments

Z4254 So Much Happy Puffy Stickers

X6021 Sapphire Cardstock

X6004 Glacier Cardstock

Z2848 Sapphire Ink Pad

Z2841 Glacier Ink Pad

Z2864 Sorbet Ink Pad (going soon)

Z3367 Vellum Paper

Z3365 Gold Foil Paper

Z3312 Gold Glitter Gems

Z3341 Thin 3D Foam Dots

Z4187 Stitched Ovals Thin Cuts

Z4241 Decorative Borders Thin Cuts

Z4258 Stitched Quilted Shapes Thin Cuts

Retired Products:

D1646 Finding The Words

D1702 Capture This

Z3217 Whimsy Paper Fundamentals (I used sorbet)

White Daisy Textured Cardstock

X7216C Hello Lovely Compliments

4275 My Legacy Writer Set

Three Amigos February 2017 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Three Amigos Blog Hop. We are three Close To My Heart Independent Consultants with a love for stamping and scrapping, and would like to share our creative ideas with you. On the 3rd of each month, we feature a different CTMH product and create a card, layout, or other project. There are only three stops on this hop, so it will only take a few minutes to hop through.

Our projects this month feature the beautiful Hello Lovely paper pack or featured colors in the pack. I pulled out my Reflections Scrapbook Program book and selected a pattern to showcase one of my favorite family photos. The photograph was taken by my niece, Emilee, owner of Sage Photography in Kansas City.

The pattern I selected is called Bottom Border-Tucked In. I kept my embellishments to a minimum because I wanted the focus to be on the photo. To bring some of the color from the lower patterned paper to the top, I triple matted my photo and created a small cluster of banners.

The title is a PML card included in the paper pack, trimmed down and matted. I inserted the title piece into a flip flap so I could add hidden journaling.

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to hop over to Lisa's blog and Donna's blog to see what they created this month!

Supplies used:
X7216B Hello Lovely Paper Pack
X7216C Hello Lovely Complements
X5930 Slate Cardstock
X5929 Whisper Cardstock
X5777 Fern Cardstock
X5789 Sea Glass Cardstock
Z2172 Whisper Ink
Z3313 Blush Shimmer Ribbon
Z3231 Memory Protectors Flip Flaps 4x6
Z697 Sponge
9037 Reflections Scrapbook Program
Opaque Pearls (Retired)

Just a Few Projects

If you are anything like me, you look through the idea book and want to recreate the artwork inside. Close To My Heart has an amazing art department! Each Annual Inspirations Idea Book and Seasonal Expressions has a list of all of the supplies used for each piece of art. They even include Cricut cut sizes when a CTMH cartridge was used. How cool is that?!? You can find the recipes under each idea book and save the PDF file for future reference.

Today I am sharing a few projects I made in September and October, but didn't get around to sharing. Two of them are Halloween themed, but I want to show how you I made the basic designs with just a few minor changes.

I surprised some of my scrapbooking friends in September by showing up at the monthly crop. I miss that crop and all of my scrapping friends like you wouldn't believe! While I was there, we chose a card from the Idea Book to recreate. Take a look at the heart balloon card on page 15. I didn't have the Whimsy Fundamentals with me, so we made the card using Adventure Fundamentals.The only things we changed about the card are the colors and the sentiment.

You'll find this layout on page 10 of the Holiday Expressions. I happened to be looking through some photos of my oldest daughter and immediately knew this picture would be perfect for this layout design. I used the flowers from the Sugar Skull stamp set, but decided the cat and sentiment from the August SOTM were a better fit. I embossed the sentiment and hat with black embossing powder, and the cat with silver embossing powder. The cat and the hat are cut out from patterned paper included in the Jeepers Creepers paper Pack.

I made cards to mail to my girls at college this year too. The design is part of the Workshops Your Way kit. Instead of using the white card bases, I chose to make bases from Black Cardstock instead. I matted the sentiment piece in black and cut it with a banner notch. I also decorated the insides and the envelopes. They loved them, which proves they are never too old for handmade cards and a package full of candy!

I hope you try recreating some of the artwork in our idea books too!

Supplies Used:

Balloon Love card:

C1660 Happy For You

Z3253 Adventure Fundamentals

X5790 Adventure Cardstock Combo Pack

Z2805 Black Ink Pad

Z2810 Blossom Ink Pad

Z2812 Raspberry Ink Pad

Z3286 Adventure Ribbon Pack

Z3285 Flower Market Cricut Collection (Sentiment Stamp Set)

Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

Jeepers Creepers Layout:

D1698 Sugar Skull

S1608 Purr-fect Halloween SOTM (Retired)

X7211B Jeepers Creepers Paper Pack

1386 Black Cardstock

X5790 Adventure Cardstock Combo Pack

Z4009 Jeepers Creepers Assortment

Z2013 Silver Sequins

Z2457 Marigold YR24 Shin Han Marker

Z2452 Golden Yellow Y222 Shin Han Marker

Z2454 Leaf Green GY234 Shin Han Marker

Z2450 Cherry Pink R5 Shin Han Marker

Z891 Tsukineko VersaMark Pad

Z2067 Ranger Silver Super Fine Embossing Powder

Z555 Craft Heater

Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

Black Embossing Powder (retired)

Jeepers Creepers Cards:

Z4006 Monstrous Halloween Thin Cuts Bundle

X7211B Jeepers Creepers Paper Pack

1386 Black Cardstock

X5786 Tangerine Cardstock

Z2805 Black Ink Pad

Z2086 Emerald Ink Pad

Z2087 Willow Ink Pad

Z2809 Tangerine Ink Pad

Z2812 Raspberry Ink Pad

Z4010 Jeepers Creepers Washi Pack

X254 White Cards and Envelopes Value Pack

Z1979 Marvy Uchida LePen Journaling Pen

Three Amigos November 2016 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Three Amigos Blog hop.  We are three Close to My Heart Independent Consultants with a love for stamping and scrapping and would like to share our creative ideas with you.  On the 3rd of each month we feature a different CTMH product and create a card, layout, or other project.  There are only three stops on this hop so it will only take a few minutes to hop through.

Our challenge for November is to create a layout with three photos. The hardest part of this layout was deciding which papers I wanted to use with my photos. After pulling out nearly every current paper I own, I finally settled on the black and white polka dot print from the Uptown Fundamentals, the birch bark print from Oh Deer!, and two zip strips from Swan Lake. The gold foil on some of the embellishments kept reflecting the light. The close up of each page will show the embellishment clusters better.

I kept my embellishments to a minimum on this layout, using Swan Lake Compliments and Grey Enamel Gems. The white space below my feature photo will contain my journaling. 

Recognize the embellishment cluster on this page? I copied it from a Swan Lake layout in the Holiday Expressions. I used Gold Glitter Paper for the word love to tie in with the gold foil accents, cutting it with the Love Thin Cuts.

Thanks for hopping by! Hop over to Lisa's blog and Donna's blog to see what they created for you.

Supplies Used:

X7212B Swan Lake Paper Pack

X7214B Oh Deer! Paper Pack

Z3263 Uptown Fundamentals

1272 White Daisy Cardstock

1386 Black Cardstock

1385 Cranberry Cardstock

Z2172 Whisper Ink

X7212C Swan Lake Compliments

Z3089 Grey Enamel Gems

Z3238 Gold Glitter Paper

Z3257 Love Thin Cuts

Three Amigos October 2016 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Three Amigos Blog hop.  We are three Close to My Heart Independent Consultants with a love for stamping and scrapping and would like to share our creative ideas with you.  On the 3rd of each month we feature a different CTMH product and create a card, layout, or other project.  There are only three stops on this hop so it will only take a few minutes to hop through.

This month's challenge is to use three textures on our project. I put together a single page layout using the Swan Lake Paper Pack and added texture with the Swan Lake and All Together Complements. I incorporated a little bit of Black Glitter Paper, embossed vellum, and some white Enamel Gems from the grey assortment.

I trimmed down a Picture My Life Overlay to fit over my photo. The sentiment on the card set the theme for the layout.

I used the Hearts Thin Cuts again this month to cut the Ruby heart for my layout. The "Together" copper foil vellum piece came from the All Together Complements. I stamped the names and "#SELFIE" on vellum with copper pigment ink and embossed them with clear embossing powder. The All Together Complements also include kraft embellishments, so I used Kraft Cardstock to mat my photo.

Thanks for hopping by! Hop over to Lisa's blog and Donna's blog to see what they created for you.

Supplies Used:
B1539 Pen Pal Alphabet
D1707 Let's Go
X7212B Swan Lake Paper Pack
X7212C Swan Lake Complements
Z3267 All Together Complements
X5927 Ruby Cardstock
1385 White Daisy Cardstock
X5930 Slate Cardstock
Z1375 Kraft Cardstock
Z3236 Black Glitter Paper
Z2170 Ruby Ink
Z2172 Whisper Ink
Z3283 PML Overlays-White Frames
Z3260 Hearts Thin Cuts
Z3089 Grey Enamel Gems
Z1979 Marvy Uchida Le Pen Journaling Pen
Z2088 Ranger Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder
Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Other: Brilliance Cosmic Copper Pigment Ink Pad, Vellum

Three Amigos February 2016 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Three Amigos Blog hop.  We are three Close to My Heart Independent Consultants with a love for stamping and scrapping and would like to share our creative ideas with you.  On the 3rd of each month we feature a different CTMH product and create a card, layout, or other project.  There are only three stops on this hop so it will only take a few minutes to hop through.

This month's theme of "3" is to use three Background and Texture Papers on our project. I used papers from three different paper packs, Zoe, Georgie, and Charlotte to create a one-page layout. I think that's a first for me! You'll notice I also used a few retired products. I've been in the process of relocating my studio for the third time since our move back in August (third time's a charm, right?) and decided I really need to start using up a lot of my embellishments.

My layout design was inspired by a quilt I made for my mom a little over five years ago. The quilt is actually the subject of my layout. Mom loved the quilt and used it every day. Every time I snuggle up in the quilt, I think of my mom. On the days when I miss her most, I wrap the quilt around me, and it's like she's giving me a hug from heaven. Cappi and Truffles seem to be drawn to the quilt as well.

The border of the quilt has a chocolate colored background with large polka dots on it. I decided to mimic the look on the base of the layout with Chocolate Cardstock, a polka dot stamp from a retired stamp set called Hit the Spot (C1406), and embossing powder. I also wanted to give the layout the same feel as the quilt, so I ran the Background & Texture papers in strips down the page. I added a few penned stitch lines as well. The empty spot next to the small picture of the quilt is for journaling.

The title letters are from two retired sets we carried years ago. I inked the polka dot resits letters and the edges of the canvas letters with chocolate ink. I used the "You Are Here" wooden accent piece from the gold Fundamentals Assortment to point to the quilt to go along with the "Close to You" title.  I kept the embellishments simple since the quilt design was a little busy.

Thanks for stopping by today. Hop over to Lisa's blog and Donna's blog to see what they have created for you.

Supplies:
X7197B Zoe Paper Packet
X7203B Georgie Paper Packet
X7205B Charlotte Paper Packet
X5643 Chocolate Cardstock
X5639 Sweet Leaf Cardstock
Z2111 Chocolate Ink Pad
Z891 Versa Mark Ink Pad
Z3105 Fundamental Assortment- Gold
Z3102 Fundamental Assortment- Glacier
Z2068 Ranger White Super Fine Embossing Powder
Z555 Craft Heater
BULK364 3-D Hearts Sorbet (retired)
Z3041 Oceanside Sequins (retired)
Z1777 Canvas Alphabet (retired)
Z1261 Irresistibles Lots of Dots Alphabet (retired)
4206 My Legacy Writers Set (brown) (retired)

Three Amigos November Blog Hop

Welcome to the Three Amigos Blog hop.  We are three Close to My Heart Independent Consultants with a love for stamping and scrapping and would like to share our creative ideas with you.  On the 3rd of each month we feature a different CTMH product and create a card, layout, or other project.  There are only three stops on this hop so it will only take a few minutes to hop through.

This month we are featuring projects made with White Pines and/or Urban papers. When I attended the CTMH Making Connections event last month, we made a White Pines Picture My Life album. I can't wait to fill this album with daily pictures as we count down to our first Christmas in our new home. Today, I am sharing the cover page and the intro page for the album.

I used Shin Han markers to add color to the Picture My Life card that is the focal point of the cover page. The papers are all inked with chocolate ink. White Pines Complements, Poppy Extra Thick Twine, and Red Enamel Gems accent the page.

I change a few of the complement pieces in the cluster on the intro page. Once I place a picture in the photo spot, I will add an appropriate subtitle to the layout. This page will sit to the left of the first set of pocket pages in the album, which I will share as soon as I get them photographed.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Hop over to Lisa's blog and Donna's blog to see what they created!

Supplies:

X7200B White Pines Paper Packet

Z3176 Picture My Life White Pines Scrapbooking Program

X7200C White Pines Complements

Z2111 Chocolate Ink Pad

Z3094 Poppy Extra Thick Twine

Z3090 Red Enamel Gems

Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

Three Amigos September Blog Hop

Welcome to the Three Amigos Blog hop.  We are three Close to My Heart Independent Consultants with a love for stamping and scrapping and would like to share our creative ideas with you.  On the 3rd of each month we feature a different CTMH product and create a card, layout, or other project.  There are only three stops on this hop so it will only take a few minutes to hop through.

Before I begin with my hop project, I would like to thank you for being so patient with my lack of blogging since the July hop. We have been in the midst of a relocation from Western New York to Michigan. The moving van pulled up to pack my house on July 17th and left with all of my belongings, including my August hop project, on July 21st. Our WNY closing was delayed by the buyer for nearly two weeks, which put us into August and all of our belongings into storage. Sadly, my beautiful mom passed away unexpectedly in the midst of our move on July 29th. I miss her terribly every single day! This is one of my favorite pictures of Mom captured by my niece earlier this year.

The new Annual Inspirations Idea Book and Holiday Expressions went live just two days ago! If you haven't seen all of the crafty goodness yet, be sure to check them out. With the release of the AI and HE Idea books, we decided to feature new products this month. Throughout the month of September, CTMH will showcase two new paper packets, Zoe and Nevermore. I chose to make a layout using the Halloween themed Nevermore Paper Pack, Complements, and Accessories. My layout was heavily inspired by the layout on page 8 of the Holiday Expressions book. I kept the basic design of the layout and switched up some of the embellishments.

I plan to put this picture of my daughter from last year on the layout as soon as I get it printed. I might do a bit of editing first to blur the background, but haven't had the chance yet.

The new Complements include Kraft and thick plastic die-cuts as well as cardstock stickers.I used a variety of them in the top left and bottom right corners of the page.

The spider is a stamp from the new Steampunk Scoundrels set. I stamped it on Kraft cardstock with black ink to tie in with the complements I used and fussy cut it for the page.  The spider web is one of the cool thick plastic die-cuts. I hoped to use the new  Grey Enamel Gems, but discovered they were not part of my initial Idea Book order. I used our retired black and grey epoxy bubbles instead.

Thank you for stopping by today. Hop over to Lisa's blog and Donna's blog to see what they created for you.

Supplies Used:

B1503 Steampunk Scoundrels

Y1006 3x3 Block

X7198B Nevermore Paper Packet

X7198C Nevermore Complements

Z3083 Nevermore Assortment

Z1375 Kraft Cardstock

Z2105 Black Ink Pad

Z2173 Slate Ink Pad

Z1979 Marvy Uchida LePen journaling Pen

Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

Z1836 Nonstick Scissors

Z697 Round Sponge

Z1471 Ruler

Z3022 3L EZ Dots Adhesive

1778 Spritz Cleaner

Z1782 Stamp Scrubber

Three Amigos July Blog Hop

Welcome to the Three Amigos Blog hop.  We are three Close to My Heart Independent Consultants with a love for stamping and scrapping and would like to share our creative ideas with you.  On the 3rd of each month we feature a different CTMH product and create a card, layout, or other project.  There are only three stops on this hop so it will only take a few minutes to hop through.

This month we are sharing a blast from the past. I'm sharing a Fourth of July layout I put together about 5 years ago. This layout is simple, but perfectly showcases the photos. I used the Reflections pattern book for my layout designs, and stamps to create a custom patterned paper. The right page features a flip flap, allowing me to add an additional picture and journaling without cluttering the original design.

I dry embossed the cut-out stars and sanded them to reveal the embossed pattern. The USA letters are dimensional elements. The phrase "made in the" was created from alphabet rub-ons.

I added a flip flap on the right page and used one of the cut-out stars to hold the flap closed.

Thank you for stopping by today. Hop over to Lisa's blog and Donna's blog to see what they created for you.

Brrrr! It's Cold Outside!

A major winter storm is passing through the area today, leaving piles of the white stuff in it's wake. I've never been a fan of winter, especially Buffalo winters! The Snowhaven layouts I'm sharing today seem fitting given the weather. I love the cranberry and glacier in this paper pack and how the black makes them pop.

The Warm & Cozy layout was inspired by a Scrapbook Generation layout I saw on Pinterest. I could only see part of the layout in the picture, but knew Snowhaven was the perfect paper pack to recreate it. I can't locate the picture on their website, but they have some very nice sketches and photos worth checking out.

I may add some more bling once I get photos on the layout. Journaling strips will adorn the space to the left of the first photo mat.

It's hard to see the sparkle of the shimmer trim in the pictures and the bitty sparkles on the snowflakes, but they add to the snowy theme. I tried different angles. Nothing captured the essence of the shimmer trim.

My Making Spirits Bright layout was inspired by a layout from Shannon Buck, CTMH Director of the Stampin' Buds team. I love the symmetry of the layout. Instead of using banners in the bottom section of my layout, I decided to use the snowflake border from the Cricut Artbooking collection (page 76 in the image booklet).

The layout looks very red right now, but once pics are added the red will be more of an accent than a focus.

The resin accents from the Snowhaven Assortment add depth and texture to the layout. White shimmer trim and red enamel hearts dress up the Snowhaven Complements.

Bitty sparkles are sprinkled around the layout, and more white shimmer trim adds a frosty touch to the snowflake border. The line of trees stamped tone on tone along the bottom are from the Snowhaven Card WOTG stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by on this very cold day!

Supplies Used:

X7188B Snowhaven Paper Pack

X7188C  Snowhaven Complements

Z3008 Snowhaven Assortment

G1085 Snowhaven WOTG Cardmaking Kit (stamp set)

Z2173 Slate Ink Pad

Z2116 Cranberry Ink Pad

Z2641 Glacier Ink Pad

Z2009 Red Enamel Hearts

Z3024 White Shimmer Trim

Z1906 Cricut Artbooking Collection