Close to my Heart Cardstock, How do I love Thee? Let me count the ways...

I'm a cardstock junkie!  I love the colors, I love the weight. I love the versatility. I have purchased more cardstock than I care to admit. I spent a lot of time (and money) matching it up with my pattern paper and getting frustrated because me and my crazy self won't settle for almost matching...Lucky for me, (and you) CTMH Level 2 packs have the pattern paper AND MATCHING CARDSTOCK!  I am now a die-hard, honest to goodness, for-life, fan! I absolutely LOVE Close to my Heart Cardstock!   Now, let me  show you some examples of why I love this cardstock so much...

1.  It's a great weight and is the BEST I've found to cut with my CRICUT!  It's smooth and sturdy. And I promise, I'm NOT just saying that :0)

2.  IT HAS A WHITE CORE!!!  Some people don't like white core paper, but I am a distressing FREAK-and white core is perfect for distressing!  I did this with my Cuttlebug and my CTMH sanding kit.  It adds the perfect amount of oomph!

3. It has matching ink, so you can do tone-on-tone inking....Notice the subtle difference? I used Goldrush paper and Goldrush ink...It makes the embossed image POP!

Of course, different color paper and inks can give a totally different effect:  Below I used White Daisy Cardstock with Bamboo ink and then Lagoon ink. 

bamboo

Lagoon

4.It takes ink exceptionally well- it was made for stamping!  It's so smooth, so your images won't "bleed"-  That means that you can ink 'till your hearts content! 

The above examples are using my Cuttlebug.  What if I don't have a Cuttlebug? You ask...Well, try this fun and easy embossing technique-No Cuttlebug required!

You will need a stylus, a paper trimmer with the blade removed and CTMH cardstock.

Line your paper up with the blade track, from point to point.  Emboss using

your stylus along the trimmer's blade track. 

Move the paper over and line it up with at a width that you want.  Continue embossing your paper until you have diagonal lines on the entire paper at equal widths.  Turn it over to the opposite end and do the same thing, crossing over your first set of lines.



You will end up with a lattuce pattern that can then be lightly sanded using your sanding kit....

What would I use that for, you ask?

Here is an example of a page that I made using this technique:

This is for my Heritage Album.  I made a pocket to hold special documents.

You could use this technique for great backgrounds, to add texture to border strips or just to add interest to letters.  Remember: you don't HAVE to do this diagonally-you can make straight lines and vary the widths for visual texture.

Here are some more examples of how I distressed/embossed using my CTMH cardstock:

I really could go on and on, but I only have so much space :0)  

So, if you love CTMH cardstock too, I'd love to hear from YOU!

Happy Scrappin'

Michelle