Make it Shine! - CTMH Technique Blog Hop

Welcome to The Scrap Buzz! For this month’s Technique Blog Hop we will Make It Shine! You may have arrived from visiting Lauren Moore's page; or, if you just stumbled in, hop from blog to blog using the links to see all of the ideas and art work. If you get lost or find any broken links, a full list of participants is on Melissa Robinson's blog.

Let Me Show You How to add shine to any artwork. I took this card from the September/October catalog and made a few adjustments. Did you know...that you can find the recipes for all the catalog artwork? Here is the link for the September/October catalog.

This stamp set is called Peace and Love. I think it will be good for not only Christmas, but babies, get well, sympathy and even Valentine's with that cute heart! 

The first thing I did was to replace the Evergreen Cardstock with Evergreen Glitter Paper. Easy Peasy, right? We have 15 colors of glitter paper and I love that it doesn't shed glitter everywhere! It also works great with die cutting and Cricut. TIP:  Don't use a brand new Cricut mat with glitter paper.

I think the catalog card used Watercolor Paints for the background. I'm still working on my skill set for that technique so I used a sponge with Glacier Ink.  Next, instead of using a Waterbrush to blend the Watercolor Pencils, I used Shimmer Brushes! Did you know you could do that? I used Lemonade on the stars and Clear everywhere else. Exciting News:  shimmer brushes will start to come labeled with the name of the color; YIPPEE!!

It's a little tricky to photograph shimmer. I hope you can see on some of these pictures how much it sparkles.

There were a couple of other changes I made. Instead of a sewing machine, I used my Piercing Tool and the technique shown in the White Pines Scrapbooking kit. I made a video class for that workshop and you can find it in my Virtual Craft Room on Facebook.

I played with the Autumn Loose Sequins and discovered a few things about the new Loose Gems (clear gems are in this collection).

 I used the Micro Glue Dots to attach the Clear Loose Gems. Depending on which way you place them, they do offer different looks.

With the point down, they look clear.

With the point up (easier to attach), they are opalescent. I put mine point up. Watch for more Autumn Sequin info on my Facebook page.

I used Thin 3-D foam tape to raise the Evergreen layer, the cloud and the angel. The sentiment is flat but the gems are the same height as the cloud and angel.

If you need a consultant, you can contact me for help and/or shop from my website.

Please leave a comment below before hopping over to see more Shiny art from Maz Wood.

Stencil It! CTMH Technique Blog Hop

Welcome to our May blog hop! You've come from the blog of Hayley Dyer. To continue the Hop, just follow the links from blog to blog until you get back to where you started. If you get lost, you can find a list of participants on Melissa's page. This month we are highlighting stencils. That may sound old school to you, but I'm sure you'll find new ideas for personalizing your art work! Before showing you my project, I have an announcement to make:

...And the award for the Official stamp set of the Pacific Northwest 
goes to..."Make a Splash!!" {Applause}

I knew I needed this set as soon as I saw it in the May/June catalog. It is pretty adorable even if you don't live in a rain forest. Don't you think?? Plus the sayings are appropriate for almost anyone, anytime and I was surprised by how perfect the set is for these crazy pandemic times. If you need more rainy weather stamps, check out "When Skies Are Grey."

I wanted to showcase this set and was also inspired by the Blue Skies cardstock, part of May's special for National Scrapbooking Month. I love the UV coating and wanted to make something similar. 

Can you see the raindrops? 

This card pattern is #7 in Make It From Your Heart Volume #4. I always think rain boots are yellow; too much Curious George as a child I guess! I paired it with one of the papers in Stitched Together. Do you see anything stitched or quilt-related in this design? That's what I love about our B&T Duos and paper packs: any pattern that highly themed is usually universal on the reverse side. Can you see the upside-down raindrops on this paper?? I think they're supposed to be flower petals. That would be something else I could do with my stencil!





Here's how I made my card:  The rain drops are from an overlay image in the Cricut Artistry Collection.  In Design Space, I added the image then used [Contour] to hide the outer line of the image; this gave me just drops to cut out. I used [Duplicate] to copy the image, next I used [Contour] again to "remove" a few drops at the bottom. I made a copy of the edited image with [Duplicate]. Now I had three images, the original, and two edited copies. I lined these up by utilizing the [Position] coordinates. Finally, all three images were "connected" with [Attach] to cut as one item. When cutting the stencil, I made sure to move it over so that there was at least 1" around all three sides when finished.

Before putting the raindrops on my paper, I stamped the two sentiments in Sapphire ink. I rubbed the Anti-Static pouch over this piece and then tacked it in place on a piece of desk pad paper. The stencil was positioned over the cardstock. The drops are fewer near the bottom so I kept away from "splash" but went right over the sentiment at the top. I used the VersaMark pad right on the stencil. After removing the stencil, I used clear embossing powder and embossed as usual. 








Note: Your stencil will be sticky from the VersaMark ink. I first tried cleaning it off with Spritz and a rag.That wasn't bad, but I had so many layers from experimenting, it wasn't quite enough. On my way to the sink, I passed some baby wipes. The wipes worked, at least with my pre-wash. I wouldn't use the chemical disinfectant wipes everyone is hoarding right now, but alcohol-free, mild baby wipes may work. Otherwise, go with my first thought, clean it with a mild soap and water.









To make the puddle at the bottom, I grabbed my Mint Shimmer Brush.

Inside, is another boot, this time stamped with Mink instead of Black so the image is defined, but not overwhelming the sentiment. These could have been stamped right on the card base, but I wanted the flowers to be a separate piece so that the marker didn't show through the back. 















Now, I would never have fussy cut these flowers out of the paper. Even cutting out the boots would have been pushing it, and those are a much simpler design. But with Thin Cuts, it was no problem! It's one of the main reason I bought this stamp set, I can use these flowers for many other projects. The flowers are colored with Tri-Blend markers. 

• Dark Red (light end) > Candy Apple
• Coral (dark end) > Smoothie
• Citrus (dark end) > Lemonade
• Dull Green Blend - leaves
• True Blue (light end) > Mint*

*I've since decided that Green Turquoise (light end) is a better match for Mint. I'd call the Dull Green colors > Green Apple (light), Sage, and New England Ivy (light). For Sweet Leaf I like Citrus Green (light end). Those of us in the matchy-matchy OCD world can get really freaked out about color matching! But, the truth is, on these tiny images, none of which are even shown with the patterned paper, it doesn't matter (too much!).

Please leave some love in the comment section below!


Thanks for stopping by!! Next, head over to see what fabulous-ness Maz Wood has for you this month.

🛒🛒Ready to shop? Head to my website to find the products I used:

• Make a Splash stamp set (available with or without Thin Cuts)
• Stitched Together paper pack (available with or without sticker sheet)
• Lemonade Cardstock
• White Daisy Cardstock
• Mint Shimmer Brush
• Intense Black ink pad
• Sapphire ink pad
• Mink ink pad
• Tri-Blend markers (see colors above)
• VersaMark pad
• Anti-Static Pouch
• Clear Super Fine embossing powder
• Heat Tool
• Stencil Sheets
• Card Bases and Envelopes value pack
• Artistry Cricut Collection (use this link to shop Cricut)

Heat It Up! Technique Blog Hop

Welcome to our April blog hop! You may have arrived from visiting Miss Carrie. To continue the Hop, just follow the links from blog to blog until you get back to where you started. If you get lost, you can find a list of participants on Melissa's page. 

Spring has sprung and around here, we haven't even had the April showers yet, so as the weather warms, let's Heat It Up! with some heat embossing!

 I made this card with the new "Let's Stay Home" stamp set Close To My Heart has created for documenting the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of us are embracing the idea to "Stay Home and Create!" I've been sending extra cards to keep in touch with family and friends and I have an online crop starting April 15 (contact me for more info).

I also used the current Mix In paper pack and both the stamp set and paper from our "These Are My People" special. The patterns is #6 from Volume 4 in our How To series Make It From Your Heart.

Have you noticed that brads are back in our product line?? You'll need them for making spinner cards and some adorable new things coming in May. Right now, silver is the only option, but what if you want to use them in another color for artwork? Did you know...you can color brads with heat embossing?! Let Me Show You How...

One of the amazing things about embossing brads, is that you may not need ANY ink!  The most challenging part may be finding something to hold the brad so that you don't burn your fingers. I used reverse tweezers and this is the perfect application for them.  

A wooden clothes pin is another option. Does anyone beside me still use clothes pins??

STEP 1.  Hold the brad while your heat it with your Heat Tool. 

STEP 2. Dip the hot brad into the embossing powder. (Just barely. You really only want the head of the brad. The prongs don't need powder, and your tweezers don't either.) Since heat melts the powder, the heat from the brad will cause the powder to start to melt onto the brad.

STEP 3. Heat the brad a little more to get a nice finish and completely melt the powder. 

I made samples with two different powders then I played with some other options. If you want to match a color, use pigment ink and clear powder. I also tested StazOn and sealed those with clear. They are still metallic, almost a bronze/copper and pewter vs. brown and black. You can color the brads (and a lot of other things!) with the Tri-Blend Markers. You can emboss these with clear too, but I don't think it's necessary.

I used white brads for the center of my flowers. You can use the Piercing Tool and the soft side of a Versamat to poke a hole in your paper for the brad. 

Please leave a comment, or any questions, below then hop over and see what Scrappin Katy has to share!

Here's the list of products I used if you need a consultant for shopping:
These Are My People paper pack
Love These People stamp set - retired
Mix In paper pack (March/April) - retired
Mink Twine
Let's Stay Home stamp set - retired    
Sapphire Shimmer Brush
Silver Brads
Bluebird Ink
White Daisy Cardstock
Carnary Cardstock
Microtip Scissors
Tombow Adhesive
Micro Glue Dots
Thin 3-D Foam Dots
Card Bases & Envelopes

Paper-Layering

Welcome once again to our monthly Technique Blog Hop. You may have arrived from Cat Scrapbooking. Be sure to check out all the posts by hopping to the next blogger until you get back to where you started. I'm sure you'll be inspired by the creativity, amazed by the artwork and/or learn something new.

If you get lost, a list of participants can be found here.


This month we are focusing on Paper Layering. This made me think of Cricut project with our fabulous collections. Did you know...ALL of the CTMH Collections are available for purchase?! This includes the two Christmas Collections:  City Sidewalks and Season of Joy.

I selection our newest collection, Complete Creativity, for my sample. I picked an 8.5x11 single page layout and adapted it to make a standard size card. Even though I know the math, it is easy to forget that the two sizes are in the same proportions. That means when you shrink an 8.5x11 down to 4.25x5.5, it's the same, just smaller!

There were a few elements of the layout I didn't need for a card, so I hid the photo mats and journaling boxes. I also switched the red to green and then swapped the bottom layer that appears as borders with the top mat layer.



Is is hard for you to image artwork in different colors?? It is for me! I selected the color palette from one of our new Paper Suites, Cedar and Pine. Did you know that the color swatches are in the catalog? I always find them helpful.




Here are the layers of the card when I assembled them. The very bottom is a blank card base. The trees are also layered! They cut as half circles and then are folded accordion style. These look great with our Two-Tone Cardstock!

After WAAAYYYY too many attempts to cut the sentiment in various sizes, I decided the best idea was to stamp the front of the card. (The part that says "tis the" is very fine.)  Ink can be a layer too!!

I actually found a stamp with a similar style! It's from the Holly Jolly - Cardmaking set.











I finished the card by accenting the stars with the Gold Shimmer Brush.  I wonder if I could make a layout from a card?? Do you re-size things in Design Space? Give it a try! Here is my DS file in case you're in a hurry.








One more word about the Close To My Heart Cricut products:  When shopping, always use your consultant's LINK to go to the Cricut web page. This is the ONLY way to find Complete Creativity. To find their link scroll all the way to the bottom of their web page where you'll find icons for various social media platforms. Click on the little green "C" square. If you don't have a consultant, I'd be happy to help you!

Please leave a comment below before checking out what Michelle Loncar has to share.