So Lovely

Sale PSA: Close to My Heart's Stampaganza (Buy Two Get One Free) campaign is ending this Thursday, the end of this Month.  Even though I am the one who said I do not want to buy just because of a sale, I just put in an order with stamps and stamps only.  This is a rare opportunity so take advantage of it.

Close to My Heart used to continue the production of all Cricut compatible stamps indefinitely.  But it is changing its policy.  Stamp sets will only be available during the life of the idea book where the stamps appear, even if it is a Cricut cartridge compatible stamp set.  Further, all stamp sets in the current Seasonal Expressions will retire by end of April 2016.  Some items, such as the thin cuts for this popular stamp set Springtime Wishes, were already sold out.  So if you have been holding off, don't wait any longer as the hot items could be gone anytime soon.

A special stamp set Hello Paradise is only available until the end of this month.  It is a cute stamp set with solid images that can be used for a variety of occasions.  Close to My Heart has designed a few layouts with the use of this set.  If you want to have a copy of it please contact me.

Today I'm sharing a layout.  In particular, I'm taking this as an opportunity to answer a question I have received: how do you use certain themed paper for a completely differently themed layout?  My simple answer is just go for it, have fun and adapt it to your need.

Some people think and feel that the Charlotte paper is wedding/romance themed.  I do not disagree that some elements do remind us of love, wedding, bliss, etc. but look beyond those elements.  What about the color scheme?  What about the patterns?  I have made numerous pages using this paper pack but none of them is wedding/love themed.  For the one I'm sharing today, I used it on a layout for pictures I took at the awards banquet in last year's Convention:

See the 4x6 black cut- apart card on the right?  It says "Home is wherever I'm with you."  But I've covered up the text with another cut-apart card that only has arrows on it.  They make quite a good match because the 4x6 black card also has some arrows.  Another cut-apart card is full of lovely flowers, which can be used for all occasions anyway.  I then grounded these elements with the label strip which has stripes only.  Had I not told you about it, who would know that it was designed for weddings?  These patterns are so versatile, and it will be a waste if we limit it to the use for weddings!

Next time if you turn down a paper collection because you do not like its theme, look beyond that and see if there are other elements that you like - motif, colors, patterns.

I'm entering my layout to the challenge at The Paper Girls - Paper Girls.  What's better to capture an exciting moment where the crafty girls were taking pictures at the beginning of the banquet?

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Spring

Happy Friday!

Are you all ready for Easter?

I did not send out that many Easter cards this year.  The one I like the most is the one I'm sharing today.  I am still a sucker for window cards and I decided to CAS myself.  The blueprint for my card is the Christmas card here.  And I wanted to use the same idea for my Easter card:

When the card is standing for display, you see the cute little chicks floating on the card front.  They are of course not floating, but they are stuck onto a piece of acetate.

Then when you open the card completely, you see another chick saying hi to you:

I like that window cards have something on the card front and the inside of the card.  No matter which way you look at it, there's something for you. :)

My card is entering the following challenges:
Addicted to stamps and more - Anything goes
Crafty Creations - Spring fever
Crafty Gals Corner - Easter/Spring
Double Click - Use a basket
Little Red Wagon - Happy Easter/Spring
Paper Shelter - Easter
Craft Rocket - Anything Goes
2 Crafty Girls - Die Cuts
Cute Card Thursday - To Die For

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Easter!

Birthday

I have made a birthday card for a soon-to-be one year old.  This is one of the types of cards I find difficult.  So I went with the cute critters from Lawn Fawn.  The one-year-old is a boy, so I thought I have to put those hearts and butterflies away.   I flipped through my stacks of stamp sets and thought that the dinosaur would be a nice choice:

I picked two dinosaurs in the set Critters from the past, then used the speech bubbles from A birdie told me to add the sentiments.  I had fun coloring them using Copic markers.

I'm linking my card to the following:

Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes

PDE Linky Party - Anything Goes

Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

Live Laugh Stamp - Something colored

Scrapper's Delights - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Paradise!

Breaking news!

To make Stampaganza 2016 even more exciting, Close to My Heart is offering a stamp set that is only available through the end of this month.  The stamp set is called Hello Paradise, which isn't the happiest name you've heard?

The stamp set features images that are suitable for beach, summer vacation and the like:

Close to My heart has even prepared instructions to help us use this stamp set to create many layouts.  The instructions will be available for download next week.

I have a soft spot for solid images because of the many fun techniques you can play with them - ombre effect, stamp kissing, etc.  I haven't been to the beach (and summer vacation won't be beach-themed this year) but I definitely want to get this set for the techniques.  In addition, I really like the words "enjoy the journey" and "Life is an adventure" because they can be used on birthday cards, retirement cards and such.  I  am on the kick on using alternative greetings on cards, to make it more unexpected and fun.

Don't forget Stampaganza is ending on March 31, 2016.  It is really the best deal of all times - buy two get one free!  If you'd like me to help you get the most bang for your buck, I'll be more than happy to oblige.

Thanks for stopping by!

Celebrate!

Hi everyone!

Today I'm sharing a technique that I like a lot but do not get to play with too often - stamp kissing!

Here, I inked up the solid balloon image from Workshops on the Go Kaleidoscope Cardmaking Kit and stamp on the Charming Cascades stamp.  Thus, the stars have absorbed some of the inks on the balloon, and when I stamped the balloon on paper, you see tiny little stars on the balloon.  I love this technique and I'm not sure why I'm not playing with it more often.  LOL.

I used the same cascade of star image in the Charming Cascades set as a background.  I inked it up in Pear and the background cardstock is also Pear.  This tone-on-tone technique never fails me - it always adds interest and is so easy to do!  Love this technique too!

My card is entering the following:

Dream Valley - Birthday

Craft your passion - Anything Goes

Not Just Cards - Anything Goes

Crafty Cardmakers - Go Green

Thanks for stopping by!

Birdies

Have you seen Sunshine Birdies, stamp of the Month at Close to My Heart?

I've made a card with it using a sketch I've used a million times and am still in love with:

You may be thinking that the birdie on my card does not look the same as the one you see on the website.  No worries, your eyes are perfectly fine.  When I fussy cut it out, I realized that he is a tad bit too big on the card, so I trimmed off his tail.  And yes, I cut out his feather on his crown too.  I figured that it would look odd with just one feather after I've cut it out, so removing it would be the easiest thing to do.

I've used the music notes in the stamp set to create my own background.  Tone-on-tone technique is my favorite trick to add subtle interest to an otherwise plain cardstock.

In case you are wondering, the sketch came from Make it from Your Heart Part I.  There are many card and layout sketches on the internet, but this book is truly awesome.  It is affordable and jam-packed with pictures of beautiful projects.  Every time when my mojo is low I will be instantly inspired just by flipping it through.  Furthermore, I like that it has dimensions and cutting guides provided.  No guesswork at all!  I wll be honest that although sometimes I like the adventure to use sketches only as a reference guide, I do not always like the end product that I made because something seems unproportional.  There are moments that I did it right the first time and was extremely excited about it but I'm afraid it does not happen that often.  Thus I truly appreciate the dimension and cutting guide of the How-to books offered by Close to My Heart.

This card is going to a very dear friend of mine, who helped me a big time.  I can never thank her (and her family) enough.  I didn't want to send a thank you card, because a card like this will be more special.

I'm entering my card to the following:
Kitty Bee Designs - in the garden
Crafting with Dragonflies - Girly cards
Crafty Calendar - Special female

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

Stampaganza returns!

During March, buy any two stamp sets and get a third FREE! You can earn multiple free stamp sets on a single order, too, because for each two sets you purchase at full price, you can get a third of equal or lesser value free! That is a savings of up to $29.95 USD! Start submitting your orders immediately and let the fun begin!