Hello!

I recently participated in a card swap with members from my crafting team. The challenge was to feature the new colors in the CTMH palette. Well, challenge accepted! Those new colors are so pretty, I was really excited about the challenge! I had ordered the Paper Fundamentals set that included the new colors and, as we say in kindergarten, I put my thinking cap on!  I had a vision for what I wanted, and this is what I came up with...

I wanted to use ALL of the colors and patterns, so I thought I'd try something new (to me!). To achieve the effect of the diagonally striped patterned paper, I cut the Paper Fundamentals patterned paper in strips that were a variety of widths. I took 2 pieces of white copy paper and put them side by side (to create a bigger canvas), and glued the strips diagonally to the paper. I used the Bonding Memories glue to attach the pieces securely to the copy paper, knowing that I was going to cut the sentiment from this "new" paper with the Cricut and there would be tiny cuts and angles (didn't want all of the tiny pieces to fall off!). Here's what my patchwork paper looked like after I cut it with the Cricut:

 

 

I was inspired by a card from Aaron Brown where she used the same technique, but used the reverse image on her card-- the background with the negative space image was used for the sentiment. Her card uses glitter paper and is fabulous!  :)

 

Well, I hope today was a great day for you and tomorrow is even better!

 

xoxo,

Kristine

 

 



Happy Birthday!

Hi friends! Hope you are well! Now that school is back in full swing, it has been busy, busy, busy around here! What happened to the summer? It sure did fly by! :) Well, back in June, a friend invited me to her family's cabin in the North Georgia mountains to do some crafting and scrapbooking for a couple of days. It was a beautiful place, and so nice to have a little "girl's getaway." I packed my Cricut, some 6x6 paper pads and my Copic markers to make a few fancy cards to keep on hand. I really love the Pure Innocence line of stamps by MFT.  Here's the first card I made (always need birthday cards on hand!)...

Have a wonderful week!
Kristine

Annual Inspirations Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Close to My Heart Annual Inspirations new product blog hop!  Thanks for following along! If you hopped on over from Amy's blog, you are heading in the right direction! :) We have so many wonderful new things to share-- with all of the fantastic new products in the Annual Inspirations book (click on the "Shop With Me" button on the right if you'd like to order one!), it was hard to choose just one thing to focus on!

I chose the "Confetti Wishes" paper pack and complements. This paper is the perfect choice to create birthday cards and treats for kids and grown-ups of all ages. And honestly, I never have enough birthday cards on hand... so I know I am going to need a steady supply of this fun paper.

The cutouts were created using the Art Philosophy and Artiste cartridges. I wanted to create something simple, colorful and fun.  With school starting back tomorrow, I have been so busy setting up my classroom and planning for the 24 kindergarteners who will be showing up at 7:15 tomorrow morning! Simplicity is the key for me right now! I think the White Daisy overlays and the fun cut-outs allow the paper to be the star of the show. I popped the overlays on foam tape to add to the impact. This card design can easily be adapted for cards for all seasons. Hope you'll give it a try!

Thanks again for joining us!  Your comments are welcomed and appreciated!

Now hop on over to Barb's blog to see her fabulous creations!