Heart Happy Blog Hop

I'm thrilled to be joining the wonderful ladies who work so hard to bring us the monthly Stamp of the Month Blog Hops as well as intermittent hops featuring Close To My Heart products...like the new Heart Happy paper and stamp set.

You should have come from Wendy Kessler's blog, but if you're lost you can always get a full list of the participants at Melinda Everett's blog.

I decided to use some of the smaller accent stamps on my Valentine's card to show you how to stretch this set beyond the main heart image.

I started by laying out my Tic-Tac-Toe grid with So Much Happy Washi Tape on a tag. I created the X's by stamping the small straight line twice in Mint ink. The hearts are Candy Apple outline with Ballerina centers. To add interest and to give my accent cluster more stability, I added a second tag behind the first. I then die cut two hearts, glued them down, and stamped the sentiment over top in Sapphire ink. Once the tag portion was done, I foam mounted it over the card base which was decorated with 4 x 5.25 background paper and a 4" piece of Zip Strip. For even more interest, I could have sewn the Zip Strip to the background paper, but I had black thread in my sewing machine and I just wasn't up for rethreading it with white. And I already had everything adhered before I figured out I could have faked stitching with a border die cut. Doh!!

Here's a close up on the accent cluster.

I stamped the tiny hearts in Ballerina and Sapphire then topped them with Liquid Glass to add shine. It's one of my favorite tricks for adding dimension without adding any weight. The Sapphire heart looks black, so if I were doing this over again, I might stamp that heart in a lighter blue like Bluebird or Carolina to see if one of them gave me a better blue on the red background. (I should have done a test on a scrap of red paper first, so learn from my mistake there.) The tiny staples added just  touch of stability as well as just being a fun addition. For even more interest, I added three Red Pearls at both the bottom and top of the card. All those small embellishments add up, particularly when you cluster them together.

I will be giving this to my husband so I wasn't worried about the length of the Candy Apple Striped ribbon at the top. I threaded it through both tags then tied a knot around the base with White and Gold Twine. If you squint, you can see the Mint circle around the hole. It comes from the Custom Tags stamp set. This is one of those sets that will get lots of use in small ways because I love my Fancy Tag Thin Cuts.

You next stop is Debi McBain's blog. Remember that this adorable paper and stamp set are only available for a limited time. Be sure to shop with your consultant, but if you don't have one (or your my customer), here's a supply list with shopping links for your convenience:

• Heart Happy Paper
• A Piece of My Heart stamp set
• Custom Tag stamp set
• Candy Apple ink
• Ballerina ink
• Sapphire ink
• Mint ink
• White Daisy Cardstock
• Fancy Tag Thin Cuts
• Stitched Heart Thin Cuts
• Mini Stapler
• So Much Happy Washi tape
• Red Pearls
• Liquid Glass
• Candy Apple Striped Ribbon
• White and Gold Twine

For a full view of all the products and discounts offered in the Heart Happy Collection, click here.
I hope you'll visit all the blogs in this hop to receive tons of inspiration.

Until next time,
Becca