Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!

“Sew What?!”

Each month we share with you a different technique, featuring Close To My Heart products. This month 13 of us are showcasing “Sewing”.

This blog hop is one big circle, so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork. Just keep clicking the link in each post to go to the next page. The page just before me is Annemarie Julian so if you are coming from there, you are on the right track! From here you’ll visit Vandra Stenton‘s page. In case you get lost, you can get a complete list of participants at the bottom of this post.

This month we’re all talking about how to make use of sewing, stitching or faux-stitching in your paper crafting. I’ve chosen to make cards which feature two of the new CTMH Thin Cut collections: Thin Cuts-Shaker Window & Confetti and Decorative Borders. Here is the first project, which uses the large, stitched & scalloped border Thin Cut out of the Decorative Borders collection. I have a shaky hand when it comes to drawing stitching, and often I smudge it while I’m working! Using these faux-stitching Thin Cuts solves both of those problems.

I haven’t had a chance yet to work with the Hello Pumpkin collection, so I couldn’t resist using these fun little smiling pumpkins. They were cut out from a half sheet of B & T Duos paper, using the pumpkin-shaped Thin Cut from the Hello Pumpkin Cardmaking Stamp & Thin Cuts. After cutting them out, I stacked them on a hill made from a different sheet of B & T Duos paper in the collection. The sentiment “Let the Witching hour begin.” is cut from one of the Picture My Life cards included in the collection, with just a hint of Nectarine polka dots peeking out from behind. To complete the card, I used a Lagoon-coloured banner from the Hello Pumpkin Complements and one of the stars from the Hello Pumpkin Shapes.

In my second card I made use of the new Shaker Window & Confetti Thin Cuts. The versatility of this collection really shines through here! As you can see, there are no shaker windows in this card, however, the large size of the outside, stitched circle Thin Cut can be useful for adding layers and dimension to any project. And so speedy. I cut both of the stitched circles at the same time!

For inspiration here, I reached for two of CTMH’s “How To” books. In the Make It From Your Heart Vol. 4 I chose Pattern 17 as the base for my design. I knew that I wanted to use the little pumpkin you see at the front of the card (cut from a PML card) which is in one of our new colours, Nectarine. Next I went to our brand new “Love of Colour” to choose which colours to combine. As you can see the Nectarine, Fern & Sapphire are definitely a winning combination! I finished off my card with a few pieces from the Hello Pumpkin Complements.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Before heading to the next page, please consider saying hello or leaving me a comment to let me know what you think of the technique or the cards. I always love hearing from you. After that, keep following the links in each post and check out what we have to share with you. I hope you enjoy your time with us, see some cool projects and get some terrific tips and ideas!

Now…go see what Vandra Stenton has to share with you, and happy crafting!

Close To My Heart products used for this project: