Passion For Patterns!

Even though I have more patterned paper than I could ever use in a dozen lifetimes, I continue to buy more. Why? I have a passion for patterns...and colors...and the unique and wonderful combination of the two. The newest Idea Book from Close To My Heart introduces seven brand-new collections, which include patterned paper packs. I can honestly say that this is the first time in my 11 years as a consultant that I have purchased every single paper pack in the Idea Book. These collections are, by far, the best yet - I just had to have them all! If you haven't seen them yet, be sure to head over to my website to take a look!

In the meantime, I have created a card that uses each paper collection, so you can get a peek at some of the patterns included. Each paper packet comes with 6 double-sided cardstock-weight sheets of patterned paper - there are 6 different patterns, so you get one sheet each of every pattern, or two sheets each of the three patterns you like best! Here are the cards I created:

Chantilly:

The Chantilly paper pack is easily my favorite. The colors are so vibrant and "Springy", and most of the patterns are small, which is great for a cardmaker like me. This card uses one of the 6 patterns. The design of this card was given to me by my good friend Judi D. - isn't it adorable?!

Buzz and Bumble:

I love the neutral palette of this paper. It's all browns, with a shot of Sunset & Creme Brulee - talk about versatility! This card shows just one of the six patterns in the set.

For Always:

You can't get more neutral than this paper pack - it's all black & white. I love its sophistication - and you can pair it with any color and have it look fantastic. Two of the patterns are shown here.

Claire:

"Claire" is pinks and oranges paired with Outdoor Denim blue for a fun, down-to-earth-girly set of patterns. You can see two of the six Claire patterns used in this card.

Later Sk8r:

Oh yes - let's get down & dirty with a paper pack that's all boy! These masculine papers are perfect for the men/boys in your life. Lagoon, Pear, Outdoor Denim and Slate all make for a very bright, bold, boyish look. I have used three of the Later Sk8r patterns in this card.

Surf's Up:

This is a fun, bright, retro summery paper pack - three patterns of which you can see between the above two cards. The second card has an interactive element that you pull open to reveal a surprise message.

Tommy:

Ok, you wouldn't know it by looking at this card, which is a testament to its versatility, but the Tommy paper pack is nautical-themed. Bright, bold Cranberry, Honey & Outdoor Denim also make this a perfect paper pack for the summer.

And that's all seven collections in the Spring-Summer 2013 Idea Book! To get a closer look at ALL of the patterns available in these spectacular paper packs, go to my website and browse the Idea Book! You can get there from HERE! Enjoy!

Patterns in the Round

If you're anything like me, you LOVE background stamps. I love all of the different patterns and textures that can be stamped onto my cards, giving them instant "pop", dimension, and interest. However, what happens when I want to use one of those cool background stamps in a circle? Hmmm...well, after giving it some thought, I came up with four different ways to do so. The first of which is the simplest and most obvious way - stamp the background image on a piece of cardstock or paper and cut or punch it out with a circle punch:

That's easy enough. Along those same lines, you could use your circle punch to punch a stencil from a thin piece of paper or sticky note, then position the stencil where you would like your circle (be sure to cover any surrounding parts of your card that might get stamped on), and stamp the background image over it:

The last two ideas I had both involve stamp "kissing". No, it doesn't involve you puckering up, it simply involves pressing two stamps together to "transfer" the pattern to a second stamp - in this case, a circle. Here are the two ways which this can be done. First, beginning with a solid circle stamp and a background patterned stamp, ink up the background stamp:

Without inking the circle stamp, press the background stamp onto the circle stamp lightly - "kissing" the two together:

Then stamp the circle onto your project:

You can see how the pattern was transferred to the circle, therefore taking the shape of the circle. The last example uses the same technique, only in reverse. This time, ink up the circle stamp, then "kiss" it to the un-inked background stamp:

This time you are actually removing the pattern from the circle, therefore giving you the reverse of the image you got before:

Pretty cool, huh? Just think of the possibilities! Here is the card I made using all of the above techniques:

How fun! I got the idea for this card from the September 2012 issue of "Cards" magazine - a design by Vanessa Menhorn. Thanks, Vanessa, for the inspiration! Now go out and do some kissing of your own! ;-)