Atlantic Hearts

I've been busy yesterday and today organizing, labeling, and making cards for my local children's hospital.  I am working with Send a Smile 4 Kids.  I realized that I need some cards that are for younger children and gender neutral.  Nothing fits that bill like cute animals, right?

So I took the inspiration of the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #275 and found some Babycakes  paper from Close To My Heart, and lion and sentiments from Life's a Jungle set (also CTMH from long ago).  The monkey is a Simon Says stamp/die set called Baby Animals. I colored with pencils.

Because I cut the paper on the angle, it made two cards. Even better!

Another happy announcement for me - I have rejoined the Design Team for Atlantic Hearts.♥ I had dropped out with my shoulder and knee surgeries, but am excited to be on the team once again starting next week. 

Sunshine

Whoa, we have had LOTS of sun. It's been hot and dry for weeks. Not our usual PNW weather.
So a sunflower seemed appropriate.  I used a very old rubber/wood background stamp for the square, and a new stamp from Papertrey Ink for the flower and sentiment.  I inked up in my Misti and was so pleased with the flower using a dauber and a few different colors...then realized the die is solid...and I couldn't place it properly on the stamped image. I have been spoiled using open dies. It is much more difficult to stamp on the cut piece, and you can't do multiple stamping very easily.  I am going to try lightly tracing the die on the paper before stamping next time and see if that will work.  So this flower isn't as cute as my first. My crafting friend Stephanie and I were moaning about not being able to get perfect dots with our liquid drops.  We think there must be a teaching video on this!!

Sketch from Freshly Made Sketches 347

Negative Space....

Paper Players #402 challenge is to use the negative space.  This card has a top panel die cut with My Favorite Things leaves, the card base was ink blended with bundled sage and crushed olive Distress Oxide inks. The sentiment is a Savvy die from a piece of card stock ink blended.
I popped the panel up with foam tape. Love these new Oxide colors!!

 

Thanks AHSC #273

Love being able to use snippets of pretty paper. When I really like it, I am unable to toss even tiny amounts!  This Echo Park 'Wedding Bliss' is one of my favorites. Very little left now. I've added it to a front panel with some gold glimmer card stock cut with Simon Says Stitched Shapes dies.  The frame around the edge is a left over from a rectangle panel I cut for a card earlier today. I made the flower with Altenew's Painted Flowers set, and brushed it with some Yasutomo glimmering watercolor.  Ovals are Spellbinders dies.  Sentiments from Hero Arts, Thanks Stamp & Cut.
That pink linen main panel and flower base are much prettier in real life...a very delicate pinks that just washout in a photo :-(

Linking to the inspiration sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.

 

 

Send A Smile for Kids - Christmas in July!

 
                                                         SEND A SMILE 4 KIDS

Christmas in July Challenge and Blog Hop Celebrating our 175^th Challenge!

Welcome to our huge blog hop and celebration of Send A Smile 4 Kids’ 175^th Challenge! The theme of our blog hop is Christmas in July 4 Kids because it is never too early to start making holiday cards for all the kids in the many children’s hospitals we now serve. We would love for each child to receive a holiday card as well as be able to pick some for special medical staff or loved ones they are missing during the holiday season.

This is my card for the hop - I've used Echo Park patterned paper, the Simon Says Stamp window die (partial cut to make the 'windows'), and Flora and Fauna clear stamps. This will be one of the many holiday cards I deliver to my hospital: Mary Bridge Children's in Tacoma, WA.

I am the last of 17 stops in the blog hop, and at each stop you have one or two chances at winning just by leaving a comment. You can also earn a chance to win a prize by commenting on the blog post on our SAS4Kids blog and also by entering the Christmas in July challenge which starts July 21^st and runs through August 3^rd at noon.
You probably came from Donna Wakefield, but you can always go back to Send A Smile 4 Kids Challenge to find ALL the links!

Here are the rules for this blog hop:

**You do not need to comment on every stop of the blog hop to have a chance to win a prize. One comment on any of the blogs or on the main SAS4Kids blogpost qualifies you to win one of the prizes on that blog. If you leave a comment on each stop, you will have earned 16 chances to win a prize, and if you enter a card in the Christmas in July 4 Kids challenge, you will also earn a chance to win one of 8 random prizes there.

**You MUST have an USA mailing address to qualify to win any of the prizes. We apologize to any of our readers outside of the USA, but this is a requirement to win any of the prizes in this blog hop and in the Christmas in July challenge.

**The blog hop begins today, July 21^st  and will continue until July 31^st at midnight CST. When the blog hop is done, all the winners will be drawn randomly from the commenters on each blog and on the main blog, and announced on the SAS4Kids blog on August 4th and on each individual blog. If your name is listed as a winner, you must contact Karen at khasheck@gmail.com BEFORE August 18^th at midnight CST with your NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS AND MAILING ADDRESS. If you do not contact Karen before August 18^th at midnight CST, your prize will be forfeited.

**The Christmas in July 4 Kids challenge at SAS4Kids will run from July 21^st until August 3^rd at Noon CST (as is typical of our two week challenges.) You can qualify for one of 8 prizes by entering a Christmas or holiday card appropriate for a child following the rules of all of our challenges found in the page above. The prizes will be awarded by random drawing and announced with the rest of the winners on August 4^th on our blog.

Leave a comment here on my blog for a chance to win this gorgeous Stampin' Up! set donated by Design Team member Janet Kay Bailey

  HAPPY Hopping!

Happy Thoughts

Heat wave here in my corner of the PNW!  But it's lovely cool in the craft room. Isn't that nice?

Try Stampin' On Tuesday #371 challenge is a sketch with a twist - use texture.  I've had gesso for over a year...and been afraid to open the jar. Why?? I mixed some up with a few drops of reinker and spread it over my new Mosaic stencil. Fun! and easy. The sentiment is Lawn Fawn 'happy happy happy' stamp+die set.

Try Stampin' On Tuesday, sketch 371

Congrats!

Celebrating grads and new jobs - and using a older CTMH stamp.  I heat embossed - mixing gold and platinum powders. Then added some color with sparkle gel pens. The die cut sentiment is from Impression Obsession.
Linking to CAS(E) This Sketch #278 and Paper Players #400

 

Thanks

Great sketch at My Time to Craft #374 inspired this.  Used Versmark ink on glossy paper with this large background stamp, but no embossing powder. Instead I used the brayer to apply some Hero Arts reactive ombre ink. I love the magic of having the invisible design appear!  Such a fun technique.  The Thanks was cut twice and stacked for a bit of dimension (Mama Elephant die), and the embossed sentiment is from Big Thanks Words - Simon Says Stamp.

 

 

My Time to Craft #374