See You at CHA Blog Hop

Welcome to the See You at CHA Blog Hop

This year I am really looking forward to getting out of the booth and getting to see the show, demos and make n' take projects.  Normally I am in The Buckle Boutique's booth from the time the doors open and by the time my day is done all I can think about is getting something to eat, relaxing a little and then getting to bed so I can be ready for the next day.  The closest I ever got to "seeing the show" was the year my daughter attended and I was able to see the show through her eye via her photos and videos.  

This year, since The Buckle Boutique will not be having a booth so I plan to really take in as much as I can.  My project for today includes products from launched at past shows from several different companies.

I started with the Lawn Fawn stamps, and cut shapes from some mustard yellow cardstock and then stamped the images with brown ink.  I like to do 2 or 3 images at once so that I will have the others ready for future projects.

I am using a kraft colored card for the base, and decided to use a safari print paper from Bo Bunny and layered it with orange cardstock.  Since I knew I would want to layer the stamped image on the same color of paper, I cut circles out of the center of the piece I was going to use for the layers of the background.  This is a great way to use the same color, but not waste as much paper . . . no one will ever see these circles since they will be covered by the patterned paper.

Now you can see how the circle were hidden by the patterned paper.  You can also see a problem I ran into . . . I was distracted by something and did not cut my layered pieces the right size.  See how they are bigger than the card.  No problem!  I just call this an Opportunity for Embellishment.  

I simply cut the entire piece into two pieces . . . 

Then I attached one piece to the card base . . .

Then I attached the second piece to the card base slightly overlapping the pieces to make a seam.  Now the layered pieces have the proper border spacing around the outside edge and look like they were cut the correct size to start with, when really there is a seam where they overlap. 

Here is a closer view of the seam.  Now, I could have just left it like this.  The seam is not really obvious due to the type of pattern on the paper, but I wanted to totally hide the seam.

I used some black rhinestone sticker sheets from The Buckle Boutique and cut it to the size of the card.

That's right . . . just cut this sheet to whatever size you need.  I like to use my Westscott non-stick scissors when cutting the rhinestone sticker sheets.  Since the sticker sheets have adhesive on the back the Westscott non-stick scissors work the best so that you don't end up with "gunk" on your scissors from the adhesive.

After I cut the piece to the right size I removed the backing from the sticker sheet to expose the adhesive and attached it to the card.  I love the sparkle, but also how quick and easy these sticker sheets are to use!  Can you imagine how much time it would take to line up individual rhinestones like this and stick them on to the card? 

Last but not least, I added the circle with the lion I colored in with my Spectrum Noir markers.  I also stamped a circular stitching line around the outside edge of the circle.

And here is the finished card.  I plan to use this for my nephew's birthday.

As a crafter, I am always looking for products that will work with and complement other products I already own.  Just like with this card, CHA is a time to explore the products that all of the companies have to offer and then find ways to have them complement each other.

Before you go, make sure to sign up to win the $500+ Visa Gift card we are giving away!

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Make sure to head over to the CHA blog for the full listing of the Blog Hop participants!