Gratitude

Thanksgiving is the season for gratitude, so the Heart 2 Heart Challenges this week is to "Count Your Blessings".  This card uses Patten #19 from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 sketch book along with seasonal print papers in the Falling For You packet and one of my favorite sentiments which is found in the Always Grateful stamp set.        

  

  

Create your own "Count Your Blessings" project and share it on the Heart 2 Heart Challenges blog!  

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).
#ctmh #cardmaking #heart2heartchallenges 

	Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (913) 485-4355

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Christmas Card Workshop

It is the time of year to start thinking about creating your handmade Christmas cards.  If you would like to enjoy some creative time with your friends at a Christmas Card Workshop, contact me at sheilabennett@comcast.net and we can schedule an hour or two just for you! 

With the new Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge, creating unique cards is faster than ever.  For this bi-fold card, the base was cut from Whisper cardstock and a piece of patterned paper from the Snowhaven kit was used to cut the inside piece which includes a cut-out sentiment.  You simply fold the card in half, and then fold the front flap back to the edge so that the ornament section with the tree is shown.  An oval was cut from a piece of green Glitter Paper and adhered to the back of the ornament section to give it a pop of color.  Before adhering the sentiment paper on the inside of the card, two small strips of Washi Tape were strategically placed to appear behind the small tree and the teardrops beside the word 'have.'  To add a bit of shimmer to the ½-page front, strips of Silver Geometric Washi Tape were added and then trimmed to expose the ornament section.  

The 5"x7" card opens like a large 'z' and is an impressive card without much effort.  A few Epoxy Bubbles and Sparkles add a bit of bling.  Since NO Stamping was used, this is a perfect entry for this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge blog.

Paper from the Yuletide Carol kit gives an elegant look to this card.  An evergreen tree image from the Always Grateful stamp set was used along with a 'Merry Christmas' sentiment from the Just To Say... stamp set.  To add a bit of shine, a piece of red Shimmer Trim was added behind the main image.  For the tree topper, some color was added to a clear Sparkle using the Marigold ShinHam Touch Twin marker.  A big "thank you" to fellow CTMH Consultant Michelle Loncar for her design and inspiration for this card.

Just To Say... (included with Artfully Sent cartridge)

Just To Say... is a fabulous stamp set which is included with the Artfully Sent Cricut Collection.  With more than 30 different sentiments, it is a stamp set that you will use over and over again - either creating cards with this cartridge, or with any of your other stamps.    

If you need to create quite a few cards, this one goes together quickly and is a nice holiday card.  Only supplies needed are some White Daisy and Desert Sand cardstock along with the Merry Merry stamp set for the wreath and sentiment.  Add a piece of Topiary Mini Chevron ribbon along with some Sparkles and the card is complete.      

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

	Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (913) 485-4355

A Tree of Gratitude

Two challenges were combined for this card: The Friday Mashup (FM161) to create a project with "trees" and embossing, along with Freshly Made Sketches (FMS138) simple sketch.  The wonderful tree and beautiful sentiment from the Always Grateful stamp set are layered on a subtle background using the Stripe Embossing Folder.  

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

	Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (913) 485-4355

Always Grateful ... for a Clean & Simple sketch

Always grateful for a clean & simple card sketch!   This week  CAS(E) This Sketch (CTS61) includes a tree, so I was inspired to use a tree image from the Always Grateful stamp set.  

A patterned paper from the Ivy Lane kit provided color inspiration and the background for the card.  Even though it is difficult to see in the photo, the tree from Always Grateful stamp set was inked with Saddle and then "rolled" in Blush so there is a hint of pink color on the ends of the branches.

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

	Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (913) 485-4355

An Autumn Tree (Technique Blog Hop)

This is my first time participating with the Technique Blog Hop.  Each month, we will be featuring a different technique that you can use with your stamping, cardmaking, scrapbooking, or other paper-related craft.  Our technique this month is to use only cardstock, no patterned paper allowed.  If arrived from "Judy Faye's Place," then follow along with the link at the bottom of this post to continue the Technique Blog Hop.  

To celebrate the beautiful Fall weather, this card uses one of the fabulous tree images in the Always Grateful stamp set.  For some embellishments, a bit of Baker's Twine was added as well as an Opaques Pearl Flourish and some Pearl Gems.  In order to add a bit of texture, the Swiss Dots and D'vine Swirl Cuttlebug embossing folders were used.

For this 5"x7" 'cardstock only' card, the colors used are Goldrush, Smokey Plum, and Olive which is the combination for Color Dare #69 on the Color My Heart blog.  The sketch is this week's Mojo Monday challenge (MOJO319).

UPDATE:  My card was chosen as the Diamond winner for Color Dare #69!  

Inside of the card is completed with the tree stamped in the lower corner using Goldrush ink. 

Just to show how different cards can look with just a few changes, this is the first card that I created for this 'cardstock only' challenge.  However, I was just not happy with it and decided to create another version. 

Since the Heart 2 Heart Challenge this week is Seeing Double, the two versions of this card qualify for the double vision challenge. 

Please visit Debi's "The Other Sister" blog for another entry in this month's Technique Blog Hop.      

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

	Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (913) 485-4355