A Snowman For the Holidays

Inspired by the black & white of Color My Heart Color Dare #214, the Thistle and Pear were perfect for a 'pop' of color with the snowman.  The pieces of the snowman were cut using the adorable Cozy Christmas Thin Cuts die cuts and then stamped using the coordinating stamp set.  This is a really fun set to create with, and is available in the CTMH Holiday Expressions collection through the end of this year.

Using the Thin Cuts dies, the hat and scarf were cut using some patterned papers from the Penelope kit.  For the background, a great black & white paper from the Uptown Fundamentals reminds me of falling snow.  The simple card design is FMS #214 at Freshly Made Sketches, which is one of my favorite sketch blogs. 

Cozy Christmas stamp set & thin cut dies 

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH). 
#ctmh #cardmaking #ctmhPenelope #ctmhUptown #christmascard #snowman #FMS257 

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

A "Wheelie" Cute Bicycle

Spent the day stamping with a friend and decided to create a card combining two different challenges. 

This week's RetroSketch #211 inspired me to use this "wheelie" adorable bicycle from the Enjoy the Ride stamp set, which will be available beginning May 1.  To combine the colors of the Color Dare #189, Hollyhock was used to stamp the sentiment, a piece of Thistle patterned paper was found in the Penelope kit, and a piece of Juniper paper from the Georgie kit.  Several different shades of the ShinHan Touch Twin markers as well as a silver Metallic Marker were used to color the bicycle.  A bit of Shimmer Trim and some Twine add a finishing touch. 

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).  
#ctmh #cardmaking #ctmhPenelope #ctmhGeorgie #RS211 #ColorDare189 

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

Balloon Animals (February SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop.  For the month of February, the Balloon Animals stamp-of-the-month is one of the most adorable stamp sets ever.  It includes six different animals created using balloons, along with some fun sentiments and a frame.       

If you have come here from Living, Loving, Laughing for Life, you are on the right path!  Blog Hopping is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!  

Using the elephant from the Balloon Animals stamp set, this is a fun birthday card for a young person.  The patterned papers are from the Penelope kit, and some Shimmer Trim and Glitter Paper add a bit of pizzazz.  You may recognize the card design as Pattern #24 in Make It From Your Heart Volume 2.         

Place a $50 minimum order this month (February 2016) and you are eligible to purchase the Balloon Animals stamp set for only $5. It is also available for $17.95 without a qualifying purchase.  

Now "Hop" on over to Show and Tell, with Michelle to see her work.  Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas. 

If you get lost along the way, the complete list of participants is available on Melinda's 'If You Bling It' blog.   

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

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

Patterned Paper ~ "Use Your Stash" Blog Hop

To begin the new year, the "Use Your Stash" Blog Hop participants are featuring patterned paper in our projects.       

If you have come here from the NJ Stamping Queen blog, you are right on track for the "Use Your Stash" Blog Hop.  Blog Hopping is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one, or visit each blog from the list at the end of this post.  

The adorable little chicks on this patterned paper from the Penelope kit just had to be used in a project.  So, I used a bunny in the Animal Greetings stamp set to create an adorable little card.  Since chicks and bunnies remind me of Springtime, I thought these went together well.  A bit of color was added to the bunny using some ShinHan Touch Twin markers, and a bit of Pixie Twine is used as an embellishment.           

Animal Greetings is a set of 15 different cute animals, each with a "punny" saying.  If these cute smiles bring a smile to your face, you should see what your purchase will do for the smile of a child.  Purchase the Animal Greetings stamp set anytime between now and August 2016, and Close To My Heart will donate $7 of the proceeds to Operation Smile.  Operation Smile provides surgeries to repair cleft lips and palates in children.  

Animal Greetings (set of 30)

Now "Hop" on over to Moments to Treasure for more projects using patterned paper.   

"Use Your Stash" Blog Hop participants:

• My Scrapbooking Blog
• Show and Tell, with Michelle
• Scrappinbliss
• NJ Stamping Queen
• Sheila's Stamping Stuff - (here)
• Moments to Treasure

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

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

A Birthday Funny

A simple card sketch on Freshly Made Sketches (FMS219) this week inspired me to create this card.  The sentiment is from the Birthday Funnies stamp set, and the papers are in the Penelope kit.  With the new paper packs that Close To My Heart introduced this year, each pack includes 2 each of 6 different double-sided designs.  One of the papers is designed to be cut into 4"x6" and 3"x4" cards, similar to the Picture My Life program.  One of these Penelope card designs was used as the foreground of the card, with the stamped sentiment.  A few embellishments, such as Glitter Tape and the Pear Fundamentals Assortment, complete the card.  

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).
#ctmh #cardmaking #ctmhPenelope #birthdaycard #FMS219 

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