My Blue Period

 So Picasso has nothing over me...I can also have a blue period!  I have been so enchanted by Serenity, a paper suite from my favorite stamp and scrapbook company.  So far I have done several cards with it and am looking forward to finding pictures to blend with the papers for layouts.  I am happy to share these cards with you...

Inspired by Cards by Christine Mystery Card Class

Layout by Cards from Christine
created for Mary Gunn Funn Craft Roulette

Card designs by Close to My Heart
I changed out the sentiments to meet my needs.

It was good to concentrate on cards for a little while, but I think I need to get back to layouts.  I don't think I will ever get caught up on my scrapping, but keep on trying.

So what paper crafting projects have you been doing?   Feel free to share in a comment below...I will love to hear from you!

Take care, stay safe, and for goodness sake, wear a mask!

Talk with you soon...Sue

Halloween Layouts

 Last week I promised some layouts, so here they are.  These Halloween layouts were so much fun to make.  Of course, I had some awfully cute subjects in my pictures!  I used a kit and instructions from Close to My Heart.  The kit included a sticker sheet and a stamp set that made the embellishing a breeze.  Other than a few minor changes, I was loyal to the instructions.  I hope you enjoy the layouts.

Until next time,

Sue

Blue Belle

 Hi! 

I am writing a short post tonight. I just want to quickly share the card I made to submit to the Heart 2 Heart Challenge this week.  I was inspired by the parameters given on Friday night's Mary Gunn Funn Craft Roulette.  This is a gate fold and opens to the sentiment inside.

The blue panels were dry embossed with snowflakes while the focal snowflake was heat embossed with silver detail powder and colored with a Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend marker.

I finished several layouts this week.  I will share when I get the photos ready.  It is looking more and more like we will be, or at least should be, staying at home.  I am glad I have my paper crafting to help fight the blues.

Take care and stay safe.

Sue

More trip layouts...

I am still plugging along on vacation layouts...I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the European trip. Today I am sharing more layouts.

Design credit to Page Maps
I love the picture of the lady crocheting, so I cut doilies on the Cricut to embellish this layout.

Design credit to Allison Davis

Allison showed cutting hexagons for the background.  Ha!  I cheated with paper with the shapes already done! 

Design credit to Becky Higgins
Not seen on the picture are gold sparkly gems on some of the dots of the stamped images.  They add a lot.

Design credit to Allison Davis

This one was fun and easy because it used all 6 x 6 inch squares for the background.

With the Covid cases increasing everyday, I hope you are all well.  I am planning on spending most of my time at home for the near future.  It is a good thing I have a sizeable stash of paper making supplies to keep me busy!

Take care and keep safe!

Sue

Vacation Scrapping

 It has been over a year since our Eastern European trip and I am still trying to get it scrapped.  I tend to scrap for awhile and then make cards for awhile. Scrapping can be stressful for me at times as I struggle to find the pictures that best tell my story.  And then it is deciding on a design and papers.  Finally, there is the journaling, title and embellishments.  Whew!  So why do I do it?  Because I love to tell my story...be it about travel, the grandkids or just everyday life.

So while I tend to overthink what I do and set my creativity bar a little high, I want to emphasize to you that there is no right or wrong way to scrapbook.  If you just want to mount your pictures and add some journaling, that is perfectly OK.  Another option is to do pocket scrapbooking or select a small album and select your most memorable pictures. The important thing is to tell your story!

This layout tells the story of our visit to the Dohany Street Great Synagogue in Budapest. I found it to be a very moving experience.

Design credit goes to Close to My Heart.  I did some stash diving for my papers and I love how they blend. The title and embellishments were cut on the Cricut.

I will be submitting this layout to the Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge.  Please visit there to see more ways to use color in your paper crafting.

I have a few more layouts going...I will try to share them soon.

Until then...

  

Another Craft Roulette project...

 The Craft Roulette live broadcast is held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday evenings.  The hubby was helping farm last evening, so I logged in and decided to participate.  I think some of the participants actually do their project in real time.  Not me! I need to check out Pinterest for ideas, my Evernote to decide on my papers and stamps, and then mull  that over for awhile.  This afternoon, I took the parameters of a fun fold card, colors of red, yellow and orange, the use of a butterfly and using some shimmer and created this card.  Everything is pretty apparent except the shimmer.  I used a Shimmer Brush on the butterfly, but it does not show in the photo. 

Until next time...

Sue

Fun Challenges!

Hello!

Welcome to my blog.  I am happy you are stopping by!  Today I am sharing a card that was inspired by Mary Gunn Funn Craft Roulette.  This is a fun online live "class" I discovered a few weeks ago.  Mary uses a roulette wheel to determine what parameters can be used for a project.  This week, the choices were a shaped card, using a bright green and two other colors, utilizing a cup in the design and applying some embossing.  I chose my colors from the current Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge and this is what I created.

All the supplies are Close to My Heart.  The colors I chose are Avocado, Desert Rose and Espresso. I think the card has a Fall feel and I like that.

Talk with you soon...Sue

Out of My Comfort Zone

 When I decided to create for the Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge  this week, I intentionally chose the top row of colors knowing that I might have problem with them.

I used Eggplant and Saffron cardstock as well as white for the sentiment.  My Pixie came in the form of markers.  I also added tones of Sweet Leaf as an optional color. I used a new die from CTMH called Stitched Lattice Background.  I can see it getting a lot of use.

So when all was done, I was really pleased with the card I made using this unusual combination.

I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and see what you can create.  You may be pleasantly surprised!

Til later,

Sue

Back to School

 Here is another submission to the Heart 2 Heart Anything Goes challenge. (Look at the older posts to see the first).  The inspiration came from a Scrapbook and Crafts Today class I am enrolled in.  The Cricut files came from SCT  All the cardstock and embellishments are from Close to My Heart.  The patterned paper is from my stash...pretty sure it came from Michaels, but several years ago. I think these layouts may be a little busy, but aren't they fun?

Just wondering...how are your littles doing school?  These kids are doing remote school.  Their parents have set up individual areas for each of them, and so far it is going well.  They are missing their friends though. 

For more projects from Heart 2 Heart, click here

Take care...talk with you soon.

Sue

Party time!

 I love the new Party Time paper suite from the Close to My Heart core catalog.  Here is a layout I created to celebrate my granddaughter's 18th birthday.  As with so many things this year, there was no party, so I had to be content with stopping by with flowers and a gift.

I will be submitting this layout to the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Anything Goes category. Click here to see more great projects.

I hope you are finding ways to celebrate with your family.

Sue

Something to Smile About!

 I am participating in the Heart 2 Heart challenge again this week.  That in itself is something to smile about,but my entry is even more reason.  I am plugging along with my 2019 vacation scrapbook and decided to create a layout to submit to this challenge. There is not much that can make me smile more than a European vacation, art and beautiful music.  I hit the jackpot here in Kovacica, Serbia!

Everything here is Close to My Heart.  The design credit goes to Allison Davis.  I will say that the piecing, stamping, and just trying to figure out my embellishments made this a time consuming project, but I think it was worth it!  

For more projects that will make you smile, please visit Heart 2 Heart Challenges.  

Talk with you soon...Sue

Shades of Gray!

 I decided to create for the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge this week. The assignment was to use shades of gray and two other colors.  I chose Close to My Heart inks in Charcoal, Sapphire and Candy Apple Red. The cardstock is Charcoal, Candy Apple Red and White Daisy.  The background was done with a layering stencil from Taylored Expressions and car and sentiment are from a retired CTMH set called Cruisin' to Adventure. Here is my card:  

This was a fun card to make...I really like creating plaids with this stencil set.  For more inspiration, please visit Color my Heart Color Dare and Double Trouble Challenge

Hope you are enjoying your summer and are staying safe!

Sue

Just Add Water!

I was not sure where to go with this Heart 2 Heart theme, "Just Add Water" and then I remembered the wonderful water show we saw on our last night in Bucharest last September.  So I used some really old CTMH paper called Laughing Lola as well as Black cardstock and Gold Glitter Paper to create this easy and quick layout. All the pictures are 3 x 4 and double matted. The title was cut on the Cricut.

To see more water inspired projects, please visit Heart 2 Heart Challenges.

With all due caution, we have been doing a little travel...first to Colorado to assist my husband's sister with a move and now in Wisconsin, enjoying a fishing trip with family.  Therefore I have been absent from my blog, but I promise more posts in the near future.

Hope you are finding time to be creative,
Sue

Family!

 This week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge is "Family Time".  For my submission, I created  a  layout for the youngest family member's May birthday.  We were sad that we were not able to be there because of the sheltering, but we Facetimed and these pictures were shared

This was inspired by Allison Davis and is one of the layouts in the "6 x 6" class I am virtually taking from her.  The idea is to use papers from 6 x 6 paper pads.  Not having many of those, I try to choose small patterns to keep things in scale.  Often, I can use scraps and that always makes me happy.  For this layout, everything is Close to My Heart.  The paper pack is So Much Happy.  The zip strips were from I Heart Us and the title was cut on the Cricut with the Artisite font and Smoothie cardstock.

All the photos are 4 x 6 inches.  The two on the bottom are matted with 4 1/8 x 6 1/8 inch White Daisy card. I will say that placing pictures edge to edge with no mats or white space is way out of comfort zone, but I think I am getting the hang of it!

Now that we are in Phase 4 (at least in Illinois), I hope you are able to spend time with your family and those you love.  Just be safe!

For more Family projects, please visit  Heart 2 Heart Challenges

Tags!

Here I am with another last minute card for the June Heart 2 Heart Challenges.  I used the June Stamp of the Month, "Garden Tags" to create my tag.  The sentiment on the front is from the July Stamp of the Month, "For My Beautiful Friend S2007". 

The layout is pretty straightforward.  The pink pieces are both 1.5" wide.  The pink patterned paper is 4.5" in length and is matted with black.  Both the tag and the separate flower are bumped up with foam tape. I used the Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend markers from CTMH for the coloring.

Be watching for some more cards created with the July SOTM.  It is a beauty and I am excited about 

creating more cards with it.

Be sure to visit Heart 2 Heart Challenges for "Tags" for more Tags inspiration.

Talk with you soon

Adventure Abounds!

We have been fortunate to do a good deal of traveling, so adventure is sort of a theme with us.  this layout documents climbing the rocks at the Belogradchik in Bulgaria.  There were even more steps beyond what what can be seen, some without hand rails.  It was definitely a challenge for this Senior, but the views were worth it.

There is not a lot to say about the layout.  The design credit goes to Allison Davis.  The products were all from Close to My Heart. The patterned paper and the accents are from the "Into the Wild" suite and I also used White Daisy, New England Ivy, Sapphire and Heather cardstock. The title was cut on the Cricut with a downloaded font called Miss Poppy.

I hope you are inspired to scrap your latest adventure...no matter if it took place faraway like this one or just in your own backyard. To see more projects, please visit Heart 2 Heart.

May all your adventures be memorable ones!
Sue

Tickled Pink

The Heart 2 Heart theme this week is "Tickled Pink" and nothing has tickled me more than the birth of my grandchildren.  Here is a layout I just did for my granddaughter.  She recently graduated from high school and I am working to finish her scrapbooks as a present. This will be the cover layout for one of the books.

I used a variety of products on this layout and was delighted how well they all went together.  The Pixie and Glacier papers are recent papers from Close to My Heart while the background print was from my stash.  Knowing I have little girls to scrap for, a good friend shared the "Shoes" background paper.  It worked perfectly! The green is Sweet Leaf, a longtime CTMH favorite. The title was cut twice on the Cricut with an Artiste cut file.  I trimmed off the words "It's a" from the Glacier paper and glued them on top of the White Daisy. The scalloped circle and the white circle were cut from CTMH dies. 

 Because I wanted to show more pictures, I put this page in a page protector and then added four more photos with Flip Flaps from CTMH and hid the adhesive strips with Shimmer Trim.  Sorry this picture is not very good.

Thanks for stopping by today.  For more "Tickled Pink" projects, be sure to visit Heart 2 Heart Challenges.

Sue

In Stitches!

I am enjoying getting back to submitting projects to some challenge sites.  This week, I was inspired by a great sketch from Allison Davis.  While she used star cutouts on the left side, I decided to go with squares.  It seemed that they were easier to evenly space and also pleasantly coordinated with the right side.

The challenge at Heart 2 Heart was In Stitches.  I utilized my Stitched Square Thin Cuts from Close to My Heart to created layers on some of the squares.  All the cardstock is CTMH while the printed papers are from my stash.  This is my granddaughter's last year in FFA, so I am trying to use up those papers

You may view more "stitched" projects art Heart 2 Heart Challenges.  I hope you will soon check back with me to see what else I have been up to.

Happy Crafting!

Sue 

Heart 2 Heart

There were two categories in the Heart 2 Heart Challenges that interested me this month.  However they need to be submitted by the last day of the month.  That's right...that is today.  So instead of an individual blog post for each, I will include my two projects on this post.

For the National Scrapbooking Month challenge, I created a layout with a kit from the "The World is Yours Workshop"  that I think came out last year.  (Yes, I am trying to catch up!)  It is one of the four layouts included in the workshop.  I love the colors and all the techniques included.

This layout being posted at Heart 2 Heart Challenges National Scrapbooking Month

The second project is a card for the Somewhere Over the Rainbow challenge.  This stamp set by the same name is also retired...like ten years ago, but I hope you are inspired by the layout and the colors.  This is being posted at Heart 2 Heart Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

I trust you are all doing well.  It is such a scary world we live in right now.  I am finding that my paper crafting keeps my mind off things for a little while...hoping it does the same for you,

Talk with you soon,

Sue

Back again...

I have been missing in action from my blog in the past, but this absence takes the cake.  During this pandemic time, I have been trying to be more active in my craft room and have been creating some layouts and cards. 

This past weekend, I pulled out my Tim Holz Distress Oxide inks and my heat embossing supplies and used a stamp set from the CTMH May-June catalog called A Million Little Things. This catalog will be online on my website suebruch.closetomyheart.com starting May 1st.

 These are the cards I created.

This technique is really fun, because while you have an idea of what your card may look like, it is always a surprise just how the various inks blend. This card may be my favorite of the three.

I think it is amazing how the red, pink and yellow blended on this one.

On this one, I stamped the flower on the circle and used our Tri-Blend Spectrum Noir markers to color the image.

Here is the stamp set I used: A Million Little Things D1925

I hope you are all staying safe and feeling well.  I am going to try to update my blog more often, so please check in once in awhile.

Talk with you soon,
Sue

Spruced Up (once more)!

I really love the Spruced Up paper suite from Close to My Heart.  In my last post, I showed you a layout and several cards I created.  This time, I am sharing another Christmas layout that was inspired by instructions from Chris Robertson.  I did not change very much...it was perfect as it was.  I will say that the layout was pretty labor intensive.  As backlogged as I am with my scrapbooking, I can’t afford to spend this much time on every layout, but darn...this one was worth it!

The trees look complicated, but they are just folded paper glued together.  I am sure there are instructions on Pinterest or Youtube.  Or, I will be happy to show you how!

I have submitted this layout to two challenges.  Check them out to see what else is being created!

Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge (I used all the colors in the challenge)

Heart 2 Heart Challenges

Until next time,
Sue

Spruced Up!

It has been a little while since I have posted on my blog...busy with the holidays and life in general.  Today, I am happy to introduce you to one of the two new paper packets in the January-February Close to My Heart catalog.  Spruced Up is so pretty and perfect for your winter cards and layouts.  Here are some examples of artwork done with these papers:

And here are the products I used to create them!

In addition to what you see, there are also card and scrapbooking kits and additional coordinating stamps and Thin Cut dies.  To see all this goodness, please visit my blog at www.suebruch.ctmh.com. Search for Spruced Up  or click on "More" to view the entire catalog.

It is good to be finding time for my paper crafts...I have done several layouts and many cards in the last couple weeks.  Something about the process brings me peace and we all need more of that.

Until next time,

Sue