H2H - Stitching!

This week at Heart 2 Heart we're asking you to show us what you can do with stitching!  I've done "faux" stitching before, but just recently tried using the new CTMH ruler to do "real" stitching.  I used to cross-stitch, and I'm finding it fun to play around with needle & thread again.

This week, I made a birthday card in Lagoon, Smoothie, and Sunny Yellow.  I stitched the background swirls with black thread.

To help me get the swirls just right, I stamped some swirl images on the back side, like this:

Then I used the ruler and stylus to poke tiny holes along the images.  I didn't bother with every single swirl.  By flipping the cardstock over, I could see what my design would look like.

Originally, I planned to stitch the entire swirl, but after I started, I realized I liked the "dashed line" look better.

Then I used the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to dress-up the card, and finished by adding some bling.

I'm very excited to see what sort of stitching projects you come up with!  I hope I'll see you around at H2H!

H2H - Inspiration Photo

This week at H2H we're using a photo as inspiration - specifically, this photo:

I decided to use the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge to make a tag card.  I cut the card at 5.5".  I used Chocolate cardstock as the background and added a bit of Dreamin' paper that mimicked the leaves in the inspiration photo.  The baker's twine is new from CTMH and will be available in February!  I was very excited about that.

I embossed the card with clear embossing powder on the background and the sentiment - it's hard to photograph, but you can kind of tell in the next picture.  Both images came from one of the Art Philosophy stamp sets.

The base of the tag is decorated with Opaques and flourishes from the Limited Edition stamp set.  The last piece I added was the acrylic tag attached to the baker's twine.  I think it came from a Connections Club reward from awhile ago.  I added two coats of liquid glass on top and the snippet of paper underneath.  I loved all those clear shiny shapes in the inspiration photo and tried to add some of that shine to this card.

I love the clear embossing powder.  It adds such a nice texture and shine to stamping.  You have to see it in person to really get the full effect.  Are you inspired?  Please share your creations at Heart 2 Heart!  Don't forget, this is a CTMH challenge blog, so make sure you've used some CTMH products in your work!

My First H2H Design Team Post!!

This week at Heart 2 Heart it's time to use a stamp set you've never used before, or one you haven't touched in awhile.  This was the *perfect* challenge for me, since I am the proud new owner of the CTMH Exclusive Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (thank you, Santa!).  With the cartridge you get three awesome D-size stamp sets.  I was in need of an anniversary card, so I took this opportunity to play with my new toys.

The stamp set I haven't used before is D1497 - it comes with the cartridge, but I couldn't find a name for this set.  If someone knows it, leave me a comment and I'll update my post.  I used the star, banner, and heart stamps on Sorbet cardstock cut with my Cricut - sooooo fun!  

A piece of Elemental cardstock serves as the background, layered onto Desert Sand cardstock.  Colonial white waxy flax is threaded through the banners and buttons.

It's hard to tell from the photos, but the heart is attached with foam tape and the sentiment stripe sneaks underneath.  The sentiment is from the Say It In Style stamp set and stamped in Indian Corn Blue.  The little blue circle is one of the Elemental Complements Dimensional Elements that coordinates with the paper pack.  If you haven't picked up the Elemental Paper Packet yet, you really need to!  It's so versatile and can be used for a variety of occasions/layouts.

Thanks for reading!  I'm so excited and thrilled to be part of this Design Team.  The only thing more exciting is waiting to see what you come up with!  We'd love to have you participate in this challenge - just remember that you need to use Close To My Heart products in your artwork.