Atlantic Hearts #149 Happy Birthday

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #149 this week!  I really wanted the sentiment to be transparent...but I've had limited success with vellum. So I was thrilled when I managed to not only use it, but heat emboss on it. Wow! Thank you craft angels.

                                               

The paper is from the Zoe collection, sentiment from the Happy to be Friends set. The Zoe paper reminded me of pinwheels, and I used a tiny brad to fashion the pin wheel. Card stock is Sorbet, Glacier, and White Daisy. The White Daisy was embossed with a Cricut  folder called Twill Stripe. The puffy butterfly embellishment helps hold the vellum in place.  I very carefully used some Ranger Multi Medium Matte behind the letters so no 'glue' would show.  It did show at first, but dried and vanished!

Thanks for looking in!  Check out the challenge and give it a try.

 

Distress

To a non-stamper, this might not make sense!  My first (cheerful) thought when I saw this week's challenge at CASology, was Distress Ink, then the distress technique.  We crafters are cheerful folk.  Finally, of course, I realized that I often send cards to friends who are having some tough times....

 

The sky is a combination of several shades of Distress ink, clouds punched with Fiskars, and sun fussy cut from an older Close To My Heart stamp set that also had the raindrops.  The sentiment is a recent purchase from Impress, inked on another new purchase of Hero Arts Ombre ink pad.  I also gave the sun and drops a brush of Wink of Stella for subtle sparkle.

Egg

I have two cards made today for the challenge at CASology.

 On the first, I made a small oval cut on the card front. On another panel I used a wide brush to apply several spring colors from my shimmer water color set (Yasutomo). I adhered it to the inside of the card. The sentiment is Verve, inked with Distress ink (seedless preserves), and embellished with some Pretty Pink Posh sequins. The card base and panel are watercolor paper.

 

This is soft and pretty. But I had another idea simmering....Susan R. posted a card here and I wanted to try her technique with the egg shape.  I used a solid egg stamp, inked it with a blue marker, spritzed and stamped.  Masking and stamping also with some yellow ink.  Color choice was because I really wanted to use the sentiment - embossed with Hero Arts white....I cut the side panels with a Simon Says stitched die, and popped them with foam tape.  The yellow marker just didn't react as nicely with the spritz.  This doesn't feel right...but I will need to think about what to change. Perhaps fewer eggs?

 

 

 

Atlantic Hearts Sketch 147

A great sketch this week at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  My first thoughts were to use the Botanicals set (Close To My Heart) with some solid pieces...but the contrast was wrong. So I used the leafy stamp for those.  The flower blocks were stamped and clear embossed before water brushing in the color with Canary, Pixie, Glacier and Pear.  I cut a flower on the Cricut from Pixie card stock, and added some Liquid Pearl to the center.  Butterflies were punched with a Martha Stewart punch. The leafy panels were simply stamped with Pear ink and water brushed with same.  The yellow patterned paper is from the Babycakes set.

Of course, now that I look closely, I realize I missed a small right panel...sigh.  But I think I still kept the intention of the sketch. 

Please be sure to check out the amazing sketches from the design team on Wednesday.  It is so delightful to see how many unique variations can be created from the same sketch!! And link up your own version. 

 

Heart 2 Heart Color Dare!

Double the fun challenge for both Heart 2 Heart and the Color My Heart Dare.

Heart 2 Heart is shades of red, black and white.  Color Dare is Black and White and 1,2 or 3 shades of red.  I chose Cranberry to go with my La Vie En Rose black and white stripes. 

What a fun, bold card.

Just A Note

Freshly Made Sketches #222 seems perfect for creating a masculine card.  Those are often difficult, and nature images usually work best for me.  I embossed a panel of Chocolate card stock with the wood grain folder. The image is from a Close To My Heart set called Friend Tree, stamped in Chocolate and Sweet Leaf.  The top notched piece is from the end strip on a retired paper set. I collect those ends strips and save them in a zip lock bag. They come in handy!!

I have missed the link-up time on this challenge, but it is a great sketch that I will use again.

 

Love Me Like You Do

AAA Cards challenge #57 to create a CAS card with a theme of love.



First, I used the Cricut to cut a heart from the front of a pink card base. Then I inked a sweet little stamp from Close To My Heart with a very pale grey ink, and colored the image with Copics, and adhered it to the inside of the card.  The sentiment was from a retired CTMH set, heat embossed with Hero Arts white.

 

Chocolate Love

In a second post today...almost finished with my Valentine cards!  This one uses a Close to My Heart stamp of the month from a few years back called A Chocolate Affair, and some patterned paper from the holiday paper scrap box.  (Do you have one of those??) Top two chocolates were also stamped separately and popped with some foam tape.

 

Linked to Friday Mash-Up #242  for a V-Day     and      Just Us Girls #329
candy themed project

Do you have sticky fingers?

Every so often I relapse....paper quilts are addictive!!!  Oh, you don't believe?  Try it, and don't say I didn't warn you.  Recently, I did a deep clean of patterned paper creating a huge box ready to go to a local children's hospital.  The box only holds 1/2 or full sheets....yes, lots of small scraps...sigh.  Most did make it to recycle, but those smaller designs perfect for 'quilting' made a nice pile of temptation. I justified falling off the wagon with this card for a lovely new friend who has a passion for the real kind of quilting and all red, white and blue.

Here you can see that after gluing my pieces on the backing card stock, I ran the dried piece through embossing folder. This one used a 'Paisley' folder. If you aren't patient and wait for it to dry, it can lift up the edges. All the pieces start out as 1" x1"
Yes...I go to the library and check out old copies of Quilting magazine for pattern ideas, and there is a super blog called fatquarters I just discovered on bloglovin' that has block patterns also. If you hear of a program to help with this addiction....don't tell me!!

Now go find those tiny scraps and have some sticky fun. 

'Pizza' my Heart ♥

I loved Kristina's card/video here so much, I ordered the set of Lawn Fawn stamps and coordinating dies from Simon Says.  I knew they would be just the thing for the grandsons.  So I CASED the pizza box card, and made the second one on my own.  It was such fun coloring, and I love how they turned out.

 

 

 

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #145

It's a thrill and honor to post today!! It's my debut on the Design Team at Atlantic Hearts. 
Sketch #145 challenge begins today. On Wednesday the design team's inspiration for the sketch will be on the site as well.  But you can see my card today.  I hope you will join in - the sketch challenges have been a wonderful boost to my crafting.  Try it, you love it!




My card uses two brand new items from Close to My Heart: Springtime Wishes (both stamps and coordinating dies) and the Georgie paper collection.  I stamped in black and then cut the flowers and leaves on solid card stock.  I added a bit of embroidery floss in loops, and one of the front flowers I popped with a bit of foam tape. 

Thank you for looking in today!

Dena J