CTMH Claire cards

Cards made with CTMH Claire paper packet

The Claire Collection from Close To My Heart is so feminine and pretty, but uses strong colors such as Outdoor Denim and Hollyhock to show off the more delicate and dainty Blush and Cashmere.  When I spread out the all the papers on my desk to view the colors and patterns, I was immediately inspired to make a coordinating set of greeting cards.  My eye went right to the flowers featured on one of the sheets of B&T (Background & Texture) paper and my mind started whirling!  

The rounded petals of the flower made me think of the Just For You stamp set which in turn coordinates with a shape on my Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and it all fell into place!

I used a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" card base from the White Value Pack and  then cut out the paper based on Pattern #24 in the Make It From Your Heart Volume 1 book.

Using my paper trimmer made this project easy and quick.  You can do this, too!  Just cut out a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" rectangle piece for your background.  Next cut a 4" x 2 1/2" rectangle piece to place as your second layer.  For this piece, I used a lighter cardstock so I could stamp a sentiment on it.  Then use a 1/2" x 4 1/4" strip (I used the top zip strip on the B&T paper) to go across as the third layer.  Lastly, cut a 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" square to place just slightly right of center.

I used my Cricut to cut a quick flower shape at 2 1/2" out of a piece of Cashmere cardstock.  I stamped the flower outline and the "A note for you..." sentiment in Outdoor Denim. The petals were stamped using Blush, Sorbet and Outdoor Denim inks.  I glued a button (Outdoor Denim from the Blue Assortment) in the center, tied it with a piece Natural Hemp and finished the embellishing with 4 Opaques Adhesive Gems in Light Tan.

I wanted to do four cards that could be given away as a gift, so I mixed and matched a bit with the background paper to show some variety.  Then I added envelopes and tied them with a pretty piece of Outdoor Denim Chevron Ribbon.  Voila!  A handmade gift for a friend or loved one.

Thanks for letting me share my love of Claire!  I have lots of paper left over, so I'm off to work on a scrapbooking layout next.  I also bought the coordinating Complements Canvas Shapes, so I will be sure to use them on my next project.