Autumn Blessings

Sometimes I want to sit and color images, and sometimes I want a quick fill in. For these two cards, I filled in the pumpkins from Autumn Blessings with plaids. The first one, the plaid comes from the Hawthorn - Scrapbooking stamps set (all images from CTMH), and the second one I used the Build-a-Plaid set.

My colors are Glacier, Nectarine, Toffee, and Saffron. For this second card, the sentiment comes from the Perk Up set and the tiny leaves come from the Share the Seasons special promotion of the month. I colored the leaves with markers to tie in the orange color in the second pumpkin.

These were perfect cards to make on this perfect autumn day in the Pacific Northwest.

Until next time,
Becca

Build-a-Plaid Goes Wonky

One of my must-have stamp sets in CTMH's new Core Catalog is Build-A-Plaid. It comes with a number of straight line images you can use to create patterns or borders. Sets like this have so much versatility to them, and I was eager to put it to work...in my own "can't always be normal" way.

I used three different stamp sets for this. Two are in the Core Catalog and one is in the Sept/Oct Catalog. After it was stamped, I ran it through the largest Stitched Rectangle Thin Cut. This step isn't necessary if you don't smudge ink on part of your card. Go ahead...laugh.

I embossed the sentiment in white over black cardstock and used a small bit of foam tape to adhere it to my card.

Here are the products used (linked to my website for your shopping convenience):

• Build-a-Plaid
• Every Little Thing - Scrapbooking
• Say It In Style
• White Daisy Cardstock
• Black Cardstock
• Black Ink
• Wisteria Ink
• Lemonade Ink
• Mint Ink
• Versamark Ink
• White Embossing Powder
• Rectangular Stitched Thin Cuts
• 3D Foam Tape

Here's hoping you have a wonderful - and maybe a little bit wonky - weekend.

Until next time,
Becca

Share the Seasons Blog Hop

Welcome to the third blog hop for this month. There was so much to show you with two new catalogs, the Stamp of the Month, and this September special promotion, we couldn't confine ourselves to just one hop...or even two of them. You should have come from Miss Carrie's Creations, but don't worry if you started here. The hop is a circle so you can start anywhere and keep going. If you get lost along the way, head to Melinda's blog for a complete list of participants.

I decided to clump my images together rather than using them to fill the squares. I haven't quite outgrown my rebellious streak which says, "But I don't want to do it the way it's pictured." Given my age, I'm guessing I'm stuck with that particular character trait.

I tried several different colors of background paper behind the grid before settling on Pebble. It had just enough contrast to provide interest without overpowering my little images.

This card uses the Mix In Paper for my card base. The leaf colors are Saffron, Sage, Toffee, Paprika, and Sapphire. I embellished with Gold Sequins.

Here I added the coffee cup from the Perk Up stamp set and "for you" from the September Stamp of the Month. I added veins to my leaves and outlined my coffee cup with a 0.5 Black Journaling pen. In addition to cutting my background panel with the largest Rectangular Stitched Thin Cut, I also ran it through my machine with the Stitched Circles Embossing Folder. The Washi Tape down the side is called Hello Pumpkin. It was released last year but can still be found in the Online Only shopping category. It's showing "Low Quantity" so order quick!

Now you're off  to Gina's blog. Again, be sure to keep hopping until you see all of the awesome inspiration for this fun special. It retires at the end of the month so get yours now by clicking HERE!

Until next time,
Becca

New Product Blog Hop

I'm so excited about today's blog hop. I literally gasped when I saw the front cover of the seasonal catalog shown above. So pretty. And there's a second "Core" catalog with products which will be available all year. Because Fall is my favorite time of year, I always look forward to the pretty papers and products in this catalog, and I wasn't disappointed. Yumminess abounds!!

You should have come from Haley's blog, but the hop is a circle so keep going. If you get lost, head to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants.

For my card, I used a mix of products from the Core Catalog (items available all year) and the Seasonal Catalog (items available Sept-Oct 2019).

I started by layering the Mix-In background paper at angles on a 4.25 x 4.25 square of white cardstock. I glued the watercolorish stripe pattern along the left side then stamped the X's (Every Little Thing - Scrapbooking stamp set) over top in black ink before adding the other layers of paper. The plaid stripe with the Hello! stamped on it is a zip strip. Once I had the paper glued, I ran it through my die cutting machine using the largest Stitched Square Thin Cut. Next I stamped and colored my bird (also from Every Little Thing - Scrapbooking) with markers. I then ran it through my die cutting machine using the largest Stitched Circle Thin Cut. I also die cut one of the Layered Leaves Thin Cuts from black cardstock and snipped apart the leaves. I glued the stitched square to a 4.25 x 4.25 card base then played with the arrangement of the leaves until I was happy. I added a lot of foam mounting tape to the back of my bird and carefully laid it over top of the leaves. I wanted the leaves to float, so it was important to have foam tape all the way to the edges of the bird layer to keep the leaves from falling off.

Here's a list of the products which are available all year:

• Say It In Style (multiple sentiments for all occasions)
• Stitched Circles Thin Cuts
• Stitched Squares Thin Cuts
• White Daisy Cardstock
• Black Cardstock
• Black Ink
• Tri-Color Markers
• 3D Foam Tape

Here are the products available only through the end of October:

• Every Little Thing - Scrapbooking
• Mix-In Paper
• Layered Leaves Thin Cuts

And now here's the exact same card using almost the exact same products, only this time it's a Christmas card.

The only difference in products used between the two cards is that, on this one, I used Diamond Stickles instead of the Layered Leaves Thin Cuts.

My absolute favorite new product out of both catalogs is the Say It In Style stamp set. It goes with everything! My next favorite is the Mix-In paper. I adore the wide variety of colors and patterns in it. So many possibilities. I hope you'll take time to view the new catalogs online and see all the wonderful ideas and products now available.

Your next stop is Gina's blog. Remember to keep going because there's a ton of goodness being shared. If you missed the hop featuring the Stamp of the Month, click here to begin. And be sure to come back for the hop featuring the Share the Season special which will be coming to you soon.

Until next time,
Becca

New Cricut Cartridge Available

The brand new Cricut cartridge from Close To My Heart is now available. Here are few of the images.

And here's some artwork done with them...

To shop all the cartridges available through CTMH, or if you need supplies or want to sign up for a subscription, please click here or use the link on my sidebar.

Until next time,
Becca

September SOM Blog Hop

Welcome to the September Stamp of the Month (SOM) Blog Hop. You should have come from Haley's blog, but if you started here don't worry. The hop is a circle so you can start anywhere and just keep going until you get back to your first stop. There are a bunch of consultants participating this month, so if you get lost, head over to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants. I'll post the link for your next stop at the end of this post.

I absolutely ADORE this stamp set. I've always wanted something that has a "just because I felt like making you a card" sentiment, so the Random Act of Cardness is perfect. However, I also really love that "hello." The font is so elegant. I decided to do a little...are you ready for it...cutting of my stamps. I get so much more use out of them by snipping out bits and pieces, but I always cut using curves or notches so I can easily fit everything back together.

My other rules about cutting stamps apart are: 1) to only do it when I will often use the part I'm cutting out alone, and 2) to only do it if masking off part of the stamp is difficult. For example, I will likely use "random act of cardness" on it's own lots of times, but because the "R.A.C." is on a straight line above it, I can easily tape that off before inking or just avoid that part of the stamp with my ink pad. On this card, I used just "handmade" from the bottom right sentiment by avoiding inking "100%" and the cut apart "A little hello..."

I started by stamping hello in Mint ink, stamped handmade in black over the top, then let both dry before running my anti-static pouch over it and stamping hello again with Versamark ink. I used clear embossing powder to give the hello a shiny, raised appearance. I would not have been able to get the crisp image of handmade if I'd tried to do my embossing first and then stamped in black over top later. I cut the oval with the now-retired Oval Thin Cuts. I don't have the Stitched ones (yet...and they would have been perfect for this), so I hand-drew a black border to frame my sentiment.

For the background, I started out using the Multi-circle Frame Thin Cut but decided to use just the interior circles. I used the full cut image as a guide to add the base circles, then used the smallest circle from Stitched Circle Thin Cuts with black, white, and the lighter side of mint cardstocks. After gluing them in place, I added the sentiment oval with 3D Foam Tape then accented with Black and White Enamel Dots. I liked how the card looked without the addition of the enamel dots, but I LOVE how it looks with them. The shine on the dots is echoed in the shine on my sentiment. It's almost like I planned it. LOL!

Here's a complete list of the supplies I used with links for your shopping convenience. Please be sure to use your personal consultant, if you have one, to do your shopping.

• Random Act of Cardness ($5 with a $50 purchase)
• Multi-Circle Windows Thin Cut
• Stitched Circles Thin Cuts
• Stitched Oval Thin Cuts (link provided in lieu of plain Oval Thin Cuts)
• Mint Cardstock
• White Daisy Cardstock
• Black Cardstock
• Mint Ink
• Black Ink
• Versamark Ink
• Anti-static Pouch 
• Clear Embossing Powder
• Embossing Heat Tool
• 3D Foam Tape
• Black .03 Journaling Pen
• Black and White Enamel Dots

While your shopping, be sure to check out all the new, wonderful products which released today. Well be doing another blog hop in a few days to featuring them, so be sure to come back.

This card will be going in the mail along with an Advance Reader Copy of The Telegraph Proposal. The publisher sent me five copies so I'm mailing them out to fellow authors and influencers to garner some reviews before the book releases in November. Only two months now! I want to include a card with each packet as a way to say thank you for agreeing to read and review the story.

Now you're off to Gina's blog. Again, there are quite a few participants in this month's hop so be sure to keep clicking until you see all the inspiration.

Until next time,
Becca