Easter Bunny Card

This is the third card we created in this months class and it could be an Easter card, but it also makes a super cute birthday card. Don't you think? I have seen this design so many times online which makes it hard to give the person who came up with this idea credit. Thank you for this inspiration!

The front of the card shows the cute bunny butt stuck in the tree hole. I decided to adhere a piece of kraft cardstock stamped with a woodgrain stamp to the front and back of the card. The piece measures 4" x 5 1/4" centered and adhered. I used a 2 1/2" circle punch to make the hole in the front. I used the same punch to cut out a chocolate brown circle for the inside. This circle lines up with the hole upfront.

For all other parts of the bunny and the flowers and greens I used my Cricut machine and my Close to My Heart cartridges. The bunny is assembled from circles, ovals and a heart shaped image. I used pink cardstock sponged with Cotton Candy to create the bottom of his feet and the inside of his ears. I sponged the eyes with some Glacier ink and added the little whiskers by using my journaling pen. It is hard to describe in detail here how to place the pieces and how and where to adhere them, but if you like to make this card, please let me know. You can order kits or come and make it yourself :-) 

The green is a long strip that I cut in thirds. I decorated each flower with a little pink rhinestone and this cute card is done.

April Constant Campaign "Baby, I'm Worth It!"

Baby, I'm Worth It!

April Constant Campaign

Signing up as a new Consultant with Close To My Heart during April is more rewarding than ever. 

Not only can you as a new member of my Team get the beautiful New Consultant Kit at a new, lower price, but when you submit $350 in personal sales within your first 30 days*, you get your choice of either a FREE Cricut collection or $100 in Select Product Credit - and that's in addition to the Straight To The Top start-up bonus that you'll earn along the way!

It was never so worth it joining Close To My Heart as a Consultant than this month!
* The 30-day period begins five days(US) after the New Consultant Kit has been shipped.
Dates: Offer valid April 1, 2016 (9:00 am MDT) - April 30, 2016 (11:59 pm MDT).

Easter Card - Rejoice

Here is our second card from the April card class. 

I used the Close to My Heart stamp set "Rejoice" (A1184) which will retire April 30th. I really like this cross and if you would like the set as well, make sure to order it soon.

I started with a Daisy White cardstock folded on the left side. Next I cut a piece of buttercup cardstock measuring 4"x 5 1/4". I used my Cuttlebug and an embossing folder to create the design you see on the card. 

I cut a piece of 3 1/4" x 2 3/4" cardstock in grey (slate) and a 3" x 2 1/2" in white cardstock.
The cross was stamped with Versamark Watermark ink on the white cardstock. Next I added some silver embossing powder and heat set it. This cross design has so many beautiful details that really look stunning when you use embossing powder. I adhere the white cardstock in the center of the grey one and place the ensemble with foam dots towards the top of my card base.

For the rest of the embellishments I used a piece of white sheer ribbon that I adhered to the bottom of the card. I only placed some adhesive on the backside to the left and right and wrapped the ribbon around. This way I didn't had to struggle with the adhesive on the front coming through this delicate ribbon. Now it is time to place adhesive and the backside of the buttercup cardstock and place it in the center of the card base. This secures the ribbon as well.

I stamped my "Rejoice" phrase with slate ink on a small tag and added it with foam dots over the ribbon onto the card. A few pearls finishing off this card. If you like, you can stamp another cross impression in the inside of your card as well. 

Stay tuned for one more super cute Easter card to come....well, it could be a Birthday card or ????

Easter Card

Easter is almost here and this month we created some Easter cards in class.

For this card we used the Close to My Heart stamp set "Easter Wishes" (B1422)which will retire July 31st.

The card base is made from Colonial White cardstock and folded on top. I cut a piece of kraft cardstock at 4 x 5 1/4"and centered it on the card base.

A piece of colonial white is cut at 5" x 3". I used a strip of buttercup cardstock 5" x 2" and embossed it before I punched out half a circle on the top right. 

I adhered the cream cardstock to the top of the kraft piece. I simply laid the yellow piece on the bottom of the kraft piece and marked the circle portion and the top of the left side for stamping. Now I used chocolate brown ink to stamp the chicken image and the phrase on the cream color piece. I erased the pencil lines and started assembling the card further.

I used a strip of 1/2" x 5" of craft cardstock and adhered a small strip of crochet ribbon to it. Next I used my bakers twine and wrapped it around finishing it of with a bow.

I attached the piece to the buttercup cardstock and placed the whole assemble with foam dots to the card base, flush on the bottom of the kraft cardstock.

I simply stamped my "Happy Easter" inside the card and decorated it with the half circle that was punched out earlier.

If you feel like it, you can color the little chicken in with some pencils or watercolors.

Please let me know if you have questions or like to attend one of my card classes.

Stay tuned for more cards to come...

Inlaid Die-Cutting - "Wacky Birthday Cake"

This was another fun card to make and it all started with the background paper and the same stencil from the first card. Yes, it is the same stencil which I re-positioned multiple times. 

I used two Close to My Heart inks one was Flaxen and the other one Glacier. The first stencil was colored with Glacier (blue) starting in the upper left corner really dark and getting lighter to the lower left corner. Next, the stencil was moved one over to the right, to go between the blue diamond shapes. Now I used the Flaxen (green) ink and applied it the same way; dark to light, left to right. 
Now I moved the stencil one down matching it between the two green diamonds. This time I started dark in the lower right corner and when up lighter towards the upper left corner. One more time moving the stencil one step to the left and between the diamonds and repeat with the blue color.

 This creates this awesome 3d look. I used my scalloped rectangle die and cut out the base for my wacky cake. Same method was used like previous explained. Place the cake dies on the paper and cut them out. Cut three cake pieces from different cardstock colors and place back into the openings. Secure with tape on the back. I also added the candle in the same way. 
This die set also comes with a little border, which I cut out from glitter paper and added as decoration on the cake pieces. 

Since it is a wacky cake, I thought the card design should be a bit wacky too. My cardbase is made from a piece of shimmer cardstock (silver) and I glued a piece of dark blue cardstock to it. I placed the blue cardstock slightly off as you can see in the picture and simply cut the overhanging pieces around the base off. 

The scalloped rectangle is placed with foam dots on the base, again a little wacky :-)

Well, do you remember the grey "Happy Birthday" pieces we cut out of the second card we made? They came to good use here. A few rhinestones and this card is almost done.

I stamped a saying inside the card and decorated with a few confetti's...

Voila, another fun card is done.

I hope you like our little excursion into the world of die-cutting. There are so many more things you can do with this technique. 


I hope you will try it and let me know how it works for you. Come join one of my monthly workshops and learn more techniques like this one. Email me for schedules and more information.

Coming up....Easter cards!

Inlaid Die-Cutting - "Happy Birthday" part 2

My second project got started with the cut out circle from the previous one. (Yeah, can't wait anything!). 

I used the same circle punch and started with a punch in the upper right corner of my grey cardstock. 

I replaced this cut out with a pomegranate cardstock circle, adhered on the back with some washi tape (or any other thin tape). Next I punched a second circle below the first one, punching a little into the first circle. I replaced this cut out with a pink circle (tape on the backside). Last I moved my circle punch to the left side and punched a circle overlapping both previous circle. Here I used my cut out from the first card. 

Punches are a super starter tool for this technique and you can make as many punches and overlays as you like :-). 

You could also use design papers instead of cardstock to make the circles stand out.

Always remember to fasten all parts in the back with some tape so they can't move when you punch through them again! 

I used my "Happy Birthday" dies again and die-cut the grey cardstock first. Then I replaced the phrase with some glitter paper cut outs. I used the same technique with a piece of scrap paper covered in adhesive and added to the back of the Happy Birthday cutout like I did in the previous card.

As you can see, even with little tools you can archive some nice inlaid die-cuttings. Don't over-complicate this technique and use what you have on hand.

I add some black strings with my journaling pen and a few little twine bows to convert my circles into balloons. My grey cardstock was about 1/8" shorter on each side than the cardbase. I simply place the grey cardstock on foam tape and in the center of the base leaving a small strip on each side. 

Decorating the inside of the card is a must. So a little matching phrase and a leftover strip from the background paper of my first card complete this one.

I hope you will try this technique yourself and see how much fun it is. If you have questions please let me know!

Stay tuned for more .....

Inlaid Die-Cutting - "Happy Birthday"

Like in the past few month I give you a more detailed look at the projects I created for our monthly blog hop.

Here is the first card with this months inlaid die-cutting technique. But before I talk about the technique used here, let's check out some other details:

The background for this card was created with a stencil from the SOA box from Catherine Pooler. I placed a piece of Daisy white cardstock on my craft mat and secured the stencil right over it with some washi tape. Next I got my Close to My Heart Inks Pomegranate and Pixie and a couple of small sponges. I started sponging the one color in the first row and the other color in the second. Continuing to alternate the colors. To make the background even more interesting, I added a small star-shaped stamp with silver ink in the middle of each white oval.
 
Limited with dies that would work for this technique, I turned to my punches and piked a circle punch for the first inlaid die-cutting. Once I punched my background paper I also punched a circle from a colored cardstock and placed this piece back inside the background paper. I secured the circle with tape (washi etc) on the back side.

Next I placed my "Happy Birthday" dies on top of the background and the new circle insert and ran it through my Sizzix machine. Keep the cutout "Happy Birthday" for another project! I cut a second "Happy Birthday" from glitter paper. Before I could adhere the glitter words back in the background I had to cover the openings so my words wouldn't fall through. I cut a piece of white scrap paper, covered it on one side with my tape runner adhesive and placed it right over the "Happy Birthday" opening on the back of my background paper. This makes it easy to place the letters back on the front. No extra adhesive needed, since my back piece was covering the open spaces for the words. Press the words firmly back in the cut out and your second inlaid is done.

I adhered a small strip of black cardstock to my card base, flush with the left side, next I added the background with foam dots to my card base, flush with the right side of my card. A few sequins and a little twine bow finishing the front of this card.

Like I always do... I added a few phrases and some extra embellishing to the inside and my card is done.

Inlaid die-cutting is a great technique and you don't have to own a stack of die-cuts to get things going. A few simple punches will do at the beginning, just as I did in my next card you will see here on the blog. So stay tuned for more inspiration to come....

Interested in learning new techniques and making some beautiful cards on top of it? Well, contact me and see which classes are available. Small groups and lots of fun. Email me for more information!

Watercolor Card - With Sympathy

This is the third and final card for February's card class. Normally I would do four cards in class, but sometimes the techniques I teach will take up a bit more time so we will only be able to create three cards.

This was a fun technique for everyone. Who would not like to create a mess with colors, right? ;)

Well we kinda did in this case. But let's start from the beginning. Here are the papers you need: Card base in daisy white measuring 4 1/4" x 5 1/2", a piece of black cardstock 4"x 5 1/4" and a piece of watercolor paper 3 3/4" x 5"

First I stamped the flower image with Watermark ink onto the watercolor paper. Even so the watermark ink is thick and sticky, you want to make sure to put a good amount of pressure on your stamp so the ink leave a nice impression on your paper. The watercolor paper is rough/ bumpy and therefore it is a bit harder to get good coverage. Once the image is stamped I applied white embossing powder to it and heat-set it. 

Now begins the fun part. I used Spectrum Aqua Markers for this card, but you can use any watercolor or water-based ink. I put blue, light blue, green and turquoise on my craft mat (I have a Ranger mat). You can use any smooth surface that wipes clean for this. Make sure to have some water next to your colors to get them flowing.

I used a fine mister and sprayed water on the watercolor paper to prime it. (2-3 sprays, not to much water!) Next you take a wide bush or tank brush, dip it into a little bit of water, pick up your first color and start dabbing it on your paper. If the color is too dark, use more water...if it's to light wipe your brush and pick up more color...keep adding color and water until you like the turn out. Let dry completely.
The more water you used the longer it will take to dry. Your paper will start to warble, but that's normal! 

Once your pies is dry, put some strong adhesive (best is strong sticky tape) along the edges and carefully place it in the center of the black cardstock. Be careful with the sticky tape, once it is down it will not come up again!!!

Ad to card base, decorate the inside if desired and finish it of with a phrase. Mine is a sympathy card. I took a piece of black cardstock, stamped my phrase with watermark ink and embossed it with white embossing powder.

Would you like to learn these and many more techniques? Would you like to make your own cards? How about coming to one of my monthly card classes and see for yourself how much fun it is? Contact me for more information and leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.

Stay tuned for more inspiration...

A Year of Card Techniques ~ March Blog Hop ~ Inlaid Die-Cutting

Welcome to 

It's month three of our year long adventure into different card-making techniques, folds and paper crafting products. We hope you got the chance to hop with us in January for the emboss resist technique and in February for ink layering. It's not to late to hop and comment.
If you missed January's hop, you can still hop and comment by starting HERE.
If you missed February's hop, you can still hop and comment by starting HERE.

This month we will be focusing on inlaid die-cutting and you wont' want to miss the awesome cards we've got for you today. we really love feedback so please leave a comment on each of the blogs in today's hop. Each comment on the 12 hops throughout the year will be entered.

Now on with the projects...

Sometimes it is really interesting to join a blog hop like this one, simply because it makes you realize what tools you have or don't have...LOL. I know, we can't have enough right? But seriously, these different techniques are awesome to test your creativity with the items you find in your stock. It also gives me a very good idea on what to look for next time I go shopping...MegaMeet, Novi, MI in May, here I come!

So what did I found in my craft chaos, well how about starting with a circle punch and a set of "Happy Birthday" dies? 

My first project was to create the background for this card. (Details will be coming up on my blog in the upcoming weeks.) 

Once the background was done I thought about the placement of my inlaid die-cuts. A punch will limit you a little on where to place them, but the lower right corner did work for me. Once I punched the background paper I also punched a circle from a colored cardstock and placed this piece back inside the background paper. This is your first inlaid die-cut. 



I secured the circle with tape on the back side. 
Next I placed my "Happy Birthday" dies on top of the background and circle and ran it through my Sizzix machine. I cut a second "Happy Birthday" from glitter paper and adhered it back in the background paper. This is your second inlaid die-cut. 

My second project got started with the cut out circle from the previous one. (Yeah, can't wait anything!). I used the same circle punch and started with a punch in the upper right corner of my grey cardstock. 

I replaced this cut out with a burgundy circle, adhered on the back with some washi tape (or any other thin tape). Next I punched a second circle below the first one, punching a little into the first circle. I replaced this cut out with a pink circle (tape on the backside). Last I moved my circle punch to the left side and punched a circle overlapping both previous circle. Here I used my cut out from the first card. 

I used my "Happy Birthday" dies again and die-cut the grey cardstock first. Then I replaced the phrase with some glitter paper cut outs. 

As you can see, even with little tools you can archive some nice inlaid die-cuttings. 

The only tricky part is always to put pieces back into the cut outs and adhere them so they wont fall out. I found two way of adhering helpful in these projects:

First, washi tape or any thin tape. You can easily run the tape on the backside without adding bulk to it. It is also perfect to cut/ punch through again.

Second, if I have multiple items to place back inside the cut outs or if there are many little ones, I made my life easy. I took a scrap piece of white cardstock, a little bit bigger than the area I had to adhere things too and covered it with my tape runner. I placed the adhesive all over the cardstock and placed it on the back side of my project, right over the area where the cut outs are going back in. Now you can easily place all pieces back on the front side without trying to get adhesive in all the little spots. No mess!

This adhering technique came really in handy with the third project for this challenge. The wacky birthday cake.

I started with my background design again. I used the same stencil from the first card...can you tell ;). Then I used a scalloped rectangle die you bring the piece in shape. I placed my wacky cake pieces including the candle on the die cut and ran them through the machine again. I replaced the cut outs with some cardstock pieces and decorated them with a little glitter trim, also cut out with a die. 

The rest of the card is all about placement and you guessed it, I had to use the grey cardstock "Happy Birthday" to finish the card off. Like I said, don't let anything go to waste, especially all these delicate phrases. 

Last but not least, I had time for one more. I made this beautiful background for another project but didn't end up using it. Cutting it down, I was left with a missing strip on the right. What better way to fill it in with some leafy border. Once I cut the border (it is cut in two pieces) from black cardstock I thought, why not create an inlaid cutting? So, I placed the die halfway along my background piece and cut twice in a row. The die is only place halfway along the side so it would rank with the other half on the card base.

My dies must have moved a little when I placed them on the background paper which resulted in a little uneven line. But, there is a solution for everything, right? I simply cut a thin strip of the black cardstock and placed it on top of the black cut outs. This leads to an more even and finished look. 

Like always, all my cards shown here will be explained in more detail and with more individual pictures in the upcoming weeks on my blog. 

So, please don't forget to leave a comment here and along the hop. Denise will be waiting for you at the next stop.

Up next is the talented Denise with her blog "Craft Confectionery"...click HERE to hop over and see here creations.

Here's today's line-up in case you get lost along the way

Theresa ~ http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com
Lisa ~ http://lisaslittlerascals.blogspot.com
Jearise ~ http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com
Kim ~ http://katydidcards.com
Claudia...Your are here!
Denise ~ http://www.craftconfectionery.com
Debbie ~ http://pawstoscrap.blogspot.com 
Sharon ~ http://piece-ofheart.blogspot.com

Important update for our Close to My Heart “Thin Cuts”!

The Close to My Heart “Thin Cuts” are first introduced in the Seasonal Expressions Book 1 of this year! Even so the Seasonal Expressions Book 1 is still life up until April 30^th; some of the item in the book will run out before we hit April. It doesn’t occur often, but it can happen and therefor I have to announce that:

• Springtime Wishes Thin Cuts are Sold Out (no back order available)

• Spring Critters Thin Cuts (Z3207) will likely sell out by the end of the month 

• My Anchor Thin Cuts (Z3202) and the
• Stuck on You Thin Cuts (Z3200) are still available for the moment

If you thought about getting one of these remaining thin cuts, make sure to order them A.S.A.P!  Stock is getting limited fast and there is no guarantee they will be available until the end of April.

On general remark about these Season Expressions Book’s which are introduced three times a year and work alongside with our Annual Idea Book. While items in the Annual Idea Book will be available for an entire year, products from the Seasonal Expressions Book’s are limited and can sell out before the book ends. This means, if you find some interesting products in the seasonal books make sure to order them early while products are in full stock.

Please email me with any questions you might have. You can check out the current books and/ or place your order on my website….Click Here!

I hope this little update will help you with your future planning of products you might like to buy. You can place single order or if you have a bunch of friends that would like to join you…have a party or schedule an online gathering/ party and receive free products in return.

Have a wonderful weekend

Claudia 

Murphy Elementary School Craft Crop in Metamora, MI

For all of you who planed on attending the Murphy Elementary School Craft Crop on Saturday, March 19th ....The Craft Crop has been re-scheduled!!!

The new date for the Craft Crop is set for 

Saturday, April 16th from 09:00 am - 07:00 pm

Come join us for a fun day of crafting and help support the school. Nice big tables, good food, vendors, prices and so much more. If you like to know more about the crop or where to sign up ...please email me for more information.

Let's have some fun together and I hope to see you all next month in Metamora, MI

Spring Camp Scrap Oakland Fair in Davisburg, MI

It is this time of the year again... Spring Camp Scrap! 

A weekend filled with laughter and fun. The Camp Scrap is held at the Oakland Fair Grounds in Davisburg, Michigan. No matter if you are paper craft, if you like to sew or if you do any other type of crafting all types are welcome here.

The fun begins tomorrow

Thursday, March 10th and ends Sunday, March 13th, 2016.

My car is packed with all sorts of products and goodies and I will be heading over there tomorrow to set my little booth up. I am looking forward to some busy days coming up.

For those of you attending the camp, come see me in the back on Friday and Saturday and enjoy a "Make & Take", brand new products and page layouts and so much more. 

Let the fun begin and I will see you all on Friday and Saturday at the Fall Camp Scrap in Davisburg

Inlaid Die-Cutting Technique

This months blog hop motto is "Inlaid Die-Cutting". Sounds complicated you think? Oh no, this is really easy and a lot of fun to try.

What do you need for this technique. Beside different colored cardstock and/or design papers and some dies or punches. 

If you are a beginner you might ask, what are dies? Dies are flat metal cutting forms which are used in conjunction with a die cutting machine such as a Cuttlebug, a BigShot etc. There are many die cutting machines on the market and it doesn't really matter which one you have since the result will be the same. (Comment down below if you are interested about a comparison between machines!)

If you don't own a die cutting machine yet, you can use different punches as well. You will be a little limited on the placement and the design, but it will work as well. 

So what is this technique all about? 
It simply means you ad a die cut/ punch within another die/ punch. For example this circle here: I first created my design paper (you can use cardstock or regular design paper, but it is a nice chance to put your stamping skills to a good us ;) ). Next I used my 2" circle punch and punched a circle in the lower bottom. The punch limits you on how fare you can punch, but this will due it. Keep the punched out piece for the next project. 
I then punched another 2" circle from colored cardstock and placed it inside the design paper...Voila... your first inlaid die cutting is done. To make sure the pieces are not falling apart I used some tape (washi or similar) on the backside to secure them.

I happen to have some word dies for "Happy Birthday" which I used for the second die cutting part. I laid them out on the design paper and the inlaid circle, fastened them lightly with some removable tape so they wouldn't move on me while I cranked them through my die cutting machine. I removed the dies and the cutouts. I used the same two dies to cut out another set of "Happy Birthday" from some glitter paper. 

Now comes the tricky part... place the glitter words back into the openings of the main design piece. I turned the design paper with the circle around and added a piece of cardstock covered in adhesive to the back. This will help me in two ways, first when I turn the piece around, I already have adhesive in the word openings and don't have to try to get it in from the front. Second it gives me a base to place my words on with out them falling through (Especially for the little filler pieces).

Well, now all that is left is to place the glitter words into the design paper and put the little cardstock fillers back between the letters. Since I placed the cardstock on the backside I don't have to worry of loosing parts while adding it to my card base. This way you can actually place the piece with foam dots onto your base as well.

Hope this gave you a little inside of the "Inlaid Die-Cutting" technique and you are going to try it on your own. Please check out the Saturday Blog Hop post and hop along to see more inspirations on this technique. I will have a few more cards too and each will be explained in detail following the hop date. One card will be made just with the punches!

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me and/ or leave a comment. I would love to hear from you!   

March - Stamp of the Month "Sunshine Birdies"

The Stamp of the Month "Sunshine Birdies" (S1603) is a cute little set and would be a perfect addition to your stamp collection. 

If you take advantage of the Stampaganza this month and get three stamp sets for the price of two, you might also be able to get the "Sunshine Birdies" for only $5! 

Just spend $50 in your March order and add this special set for just $5. Only available in March ....Check here for more details!

A Special Greeting - Happy Wedding Day

Here is card No# 2 from my February card class. Looking familiar? Well, I had a similar version of this card on the blog awhile ago. This started as a project for the monthly blog hop I attend and I liked the result so much I thought I can tweak it for my class too.

The original was for a technique called "Ink Layering" and you can find it HERE on the blog. 

For my class I skipped the part stamping the outline flower in white ink. The white ink simply takes to long to dry and therefore would not work for a 2 hour class ;-). But the card still looks very pretty without this step, don't you think?

So how did we make this card? I used a piece of daisy white cardstock from Close to My Heart for the stamping base. This piece measures 3 3/4" x 5" and is backed by a piece of slate cardstock measuring 4" x 5 1/4". First I stamped the full flower background in "Pixie" ink before I stamped the outline in "Pomegranate" ink on top. The clear stamps make it really easy to line the images up. 

Next I stamped the outline on a couple of post-it notes, so that each outline as some of the post-it note adhesive included. I cut these flowers out and placed them on top of my already stamped roses. This technique is called "Masking". You place a "mask" on top of a stamped image to cover it and protect it from getting stamped on in the next step.

Now I used the little branch stamp included in this set and more of my Close to My Heart "Slate" ink. I randomly stamped the branches around the flowers and since I covered my roses I didn't had to worry about stamping the branches right over them. You want to stamp over your mask so the branches appear behind your flowers. Once the bottom and some of the sides are filled remove your masks. Voila .... stunning results right?

I used the same technique to decorate the envelope and the inside of my card. The phrases are stamped in black ink. I added a piece of white ribbon around the finished stamped image and added a little bow and rhinestone to it. 

Now adhere the stamped cardstock to the grey and to the card base measuring 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" with a fold on the top.

Masking is a great technique when you try to get dimension to your stamped images without adding layer over layer of cardstock. Try it with some flower images and create a bunch of them.

Leave a comment what you like about this technique or if you have tried it yourself. Let me know if you would like to join my monthly class and have some fun. No matter what it is, I would love to hear from you.

Stay tuned for more....