Heartfelt Creations Sunflower Bouquet

Wow! Time is going very quickly. It wasn't until I was falling asleep last night that I realized I hadn't done my post for this project yet. My Foods classes are almost done their first modules, I need to write a education grant proposal for my school, and one of the fosters became incredibly ill over the weekend and needed hospitalization (he's home now and recovering beautifully!). I am counting on your grace towards me that I'm late today.

For me, this is going to be a hard card to give up. I love it. It's the image that I absolutely adore. I will be using this image again in very short order.

I can't tell you enough how much I love this paper collection. If you could see my wardrobe and the vast array of greys and muddied colours, you would not be at all surprised. I really love the superimposed image that Heartfelt Creations uses on their pattern paper, and much of it is neutrally patterned to be used for any occasion, from Christmas, to wedding - all from the same collection! The pale green I used for this background would be a perfect example of a paper that would fit for any occasion. Divine!

I adore the way this image turned out. I just don't even know what else to say. It's one of those projects that you look at a few days after it is finished and say, 'I can't believe I did that!!' - but in the very best way! Yup, love this image!

Do head over to the Heartfelt Creations blog for some more inspired work from the rest of the team. And enjoy.

stamps; Sunflower Bouquet (heartfelt creations)
ink; weathered wood, pumice stone distress inks (Ranger), tuxedo black memento ink (tsukineko)
paper; Classic Sunflower Collection Paper (heartfelt creations), coconut swirl, ash, white canvas (bazzill)
accessories; classic squares nest abilities dies (spellbinders), (sunflowers)Y21,23,26,E13,15, (pail) E0, 09, 97, N1, 3, 5, 7, (flowers) BV20, 23, 25, 29,YR12, 14, YG61, 63, 67 (copic markers), grey satin ribbon (stamping’ up!)

IHP - You Always Know...

I'm running out of time and energy to continue making Christmas cards, so I created a more generic card instead just to make the creative spirit in me happy.

I've had this Generations pad of paper on my desk, waiting for my Christmas card making frenzy to use it. So far, it hasn't happened because so many unexpected things popped up over the last 4 weeks. Seriously unexpected. I'm now registered for Master's classes at the University of Calgary, Hannah's root canal went well and she is booked to have her wisdom teeth removed in a month. Our latest foster dog, Asha, has been a really significant part of our AARCS foster dog journey with her c-section, equivalent to postpartum depression, her runt L'il Mouse needing puppy formula supplements and the death of one of Asha's other pups. My dad's cataract surgery went perfectly and gosh, I hope nothing else pops up!!! I started Christmas shopping on Tuesday finally and was almost done the following day. I'm down to Rachel's gift and ear muffs.

And Christmas cards went a little by the way side. I really, really love this pad because it is so warmly coloured and vintage gorgeous. My sentiment is from You Always Know by Technique Tuesday, stamped using rich cocoa memento ink and cut out using large square nestabilities and mounted on pattern paper cut using labels 15 shapeabilities.

I embellished this card using ivory ruffle edge trim by maya road and crepe burgundy ribbon by creative impressions.  This card simply makes my heart happy.

stamps; you always know (technique tuesday)
paper; generations (simple stories), maltball (bazzill), kraft (american elements)
ink; rich cocoa memento (tsukineko)
accessories; labels 15, lg squares (spellbinders), burgundy crepe ribbon (creative impressions), ivory ruffle trim (maya road), pearls (k&co), floral embellishment (recollections), brown satin ribbon (offray)
 

I {Heart} Papers Market Street Stamps Blog Hop

Welcome to the i {heart} papers and Market Street Stamps combined teams blog hop!  We're so excited to have you join us, and we know you're in for a real treat!

You should have arrived here from Kendra Wietstock's blog.  If not, visit Kate's i {heart} papers blog to start from the beginning.  You'll go from there to the blogs of our designers and finish up at the Market Street Stamps blog.  If you get lost, both company blogs have the complete list of links.

about i {heart} papers:

i {heart} papers is proud that we recently celebrated our 3rd anniversary in October. We’ve grown by leaps and bounds and have not strayed from our core principle of stellar customer service with FAST and FREE shipping. You ALWAYS receive free shipping with your $50 US order/$150 CAN order with no gimmicks or restrictions like so many other companies, and orders are almost always shipped within 24 business hours. We’re thrilled to be hopping along with the MSS team today and to be carrying the MSS line of stamps. If you’ve never ordered from us before, please mention that you learned about us on this hop for a free gift with your first order! Please visit us at www.iheartpapers.com, “like” us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/iheartpapers, where you'll find over 1900 other IHP fans!) and follow us on Twitter (@iheartpapers). Enjoy the hop! If you order by Wednesday midnight EST, all MSS sets are 15% off!  Leave comments along the hop to be entered in a drawing to win one free MSS set. The more you comment, the more chances to win!  You have until Wednesday at midnight...winners will be announced on the ihp blog on Friday!

about Market Street Stamps:

Market Street Stamps, LLC, was founded in January 2010 by Angelica and Jorge Suarez, a husband and wife team who create unique stamps made from peach-tinted photopolymer, the best available on the market today! Market Street Stamps' goal is to produce durable, high quality designs that you'll turn to again and again! We are thrilled to be hopping with i {heart} papers and their incredibly talented design team today! Be sure to "like" us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/MarketStreetStamps) for the latest releases and project ideas from our Design Team!

For my blog hop card, I stamped on December 25th paper by Kaiser Craft using the Grace background stamp and Season's Greetings is from Prancer. All product used on my card is from i {heart} paper and is directly linked below.

From here, you're headed to Lori Tecler's blog.  Enjoy the hop!  Thanks for your comments!  Remember to order your MSS from ihp before Wednesday to get the 15% discount!

i {heart} papers
Amy Kolling
Brenda Weaver
Carolyn Mustopa
Deb Felts
Dobea Alberts
Gretchen Belknap
Julie Day
Kendra Wietstock
Loretta Lock
Lori Tecler
Lynn Mercurio
Michele Gross
Samantha Casey
Stephanie Muzzulin
Stephanie Washburn
Tifany DeGough
Tracy Schultz
Market Street Stamps

stamps; grace, prancer (market street stamps)
paper; december 25th (kaiser craft), ivy, raven (bazzill)
ink; black soot, tea dye, vintage photo distress inks (ranger)
accessories; fancy tags 2, lg petite oval nestabilities (spellbinders), mixed blooms - black (petaloo), green satin ribbon (may arts) 

Riddersholm Design Sketch Challenge Week 48

For the current week's Sketch Challenge with Riddersholm Design, see on the info on the blog. We really would love for you to play along with us for a chance to win some great prizes! The rest of the design team has some absolutely stunning projects for you to take a peek at as well.

I used 'I Believe' for my card today and the coordinating cut outs. I really love these no brainer images because sometimes, a gorgeous image is needed for a quick card.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your weekend!

Riddersholm Designs Sketch Challenge - Week 47

Riddersholm Designs is hosting a sketch challenge contest. Here are the rules;

1. Important YOU have to be a follower on Riddersholm Design’s blog, so if you not already are – join :o)
   
2. You have to write about this card sketch challenge and put our Xmas badge with link to the challenge on you own blog where it is visible.
   
3. Confirm your participation by adding your blog address to your picture of your challenge card  beneath on the Riddersholm Design's blog.
   
4. Your participating card must be done with basis in the card sketch and be a Christmas card.
   

Well, I completely forgot to upload this card last week in the midst of all the hubb bubb in my house; 

I love the rich vintage feel of the Riddersholm Design paper!!

And I really love the instant vintage images that coordinate with these papers!!

To keep with the vintage look, I cut white snowflakes out and sponged them with Tea Dye distress ink. Once the ink was dry, I covered the snowflakes with adhesive and dipped them in vintage glass glitter. This snowflake sparkles like it is covered in diamonds. I do love me that glass glitter!!!

I'll post the current sketch and card tomorrow for the Riddersholm Design sketch challenge. The sketch is FABULOUS!

paper; I Believe, christmas cutouts - vintage christmas tags (riddersholm design), dotted swiss clover, raven (bazzill)
ink; tea dye distress ink (ranger)
accessories; create a flake 1 (spellbinders), snowflake punch (martha stewart), stardust stickles (ranger), beetle black brads (bazzill), black satin ribbon (offray), krystallos vintage glass glitter (art institute glitter), button (basic grey) 

aud sentiments - christmas sentiment
CCEE1148 - snowflakes and bling
crazy 4 challenges - snow
DYSU - ribbon or anything you can tie
penny's challenge - tie one on 
crafty creations - photo inspiration
our creative corner - photo inspiration
tuesday  throwdown - masculine holiday card

HC Down By the Old Mill Stream...

For my Heartfelt Creations card this week, I decided to revisit a set released this past spring and give the image an autumnal feel.

I sponged the colour onto my image with nice, big sponges as I have done many times previously. It's a quick and easy technique that I really love for images like this one from Outside My Window.

 By using the sponges to apply colour, I feel that I get a softer, more vintage looking image.

I also wanted to give this lovely image a gilded frame. I stamped several images from Open Falling Leaves using versamark ink onto pattern paper and heat embossed them using African Gold embossing powder for a lot of gold shine! This is quick and easy to assemble by using the coordinating Falling Leaves dies. I am really loving the richness of this look!

I gently curved the larger leaves to give my gilded floral spray more depth and since I stamped the leaves on double sided pattern paper, even the curled portions have colour and look fabulous! The rolled blossoms I've made for the spray are from the same double sided paper collection.

In the upper corner of my card is one of my favourite flourishes ever! I used the largest flourish from Elegante Border and stamped it in the corner of my card using versamark ink and heat embossed it using pale gold embossing powder which is a perfect match with the pattern paper I used for the card base - DIVINE!!! I don't find that a perfect match happens often for me, so I'm quite content when my elements 'go' together but today is a day for the 'perfectly had to be'! *grin*

I would invite you to take a peek at the Heartfelt Creations blog for some stunning inspiration by the rest of the Heartfelt Creations design team! 

stamps; open falling leaves, outside my window, elegante border (heartfelt creations)
paper; ancestry (K&Co), maltball, lagoon, walnut creme (bazzill), kraft (american elements)
ink; espresso adirondack, antique linen, tea dye, vintage photo, peeled paint, barn door, rusty hinge, stormy sky, tumbled glass distress ink (ranger), versamark (tsukineko)
accessories; labels 18 nestabilities (spellbinders), pale gold embossing pearl, ancient gold african gold embossing powder (ranger), branch punch (martha stewart), brown satin ribbon (offray)

anything goes - vintage/shabby chic
cuddle buddly - vintage/distressed/flowers
creative card crew- anything goes
catch the bug - anything goes
ribbon carousel - anything goes
inspire me fridays - anything goes
craft your passion - anything goes with a twist (at least 1 flower) 
card mad fairy - flowers
craft your days away - make your own flowers
everybody art - autumn
flourishes timeless tuesday - use water
teapot tuesday - what would your glass house look like/ float your boat 
gingerloft - create a sky (I sponged mine)
sweet stampin'  - anything but a birthday
desert island crafts - pick 3+ (kraft paper, flowers, heat embossing, dimension, nature inspired)
by the cute and girly - bright and beautiful

Heartfelt Creations Blog hop

Today, I'm thrilled to be part of a blog hop by Current and Alumni Design Team Members from Heartfelt Creations. I always love hops and today is no exception. I hope you will enjoy what we have created for your inspiration and since this is a circular hop, you don't need to worry about a start and end. Start where you are at and blog hop until you get back to where you started. Fun, eh?!!

I used an older Heartfelt Creations stamp, Clematis/Cottage Set. I love the lovely vintage feel of this image and while I know it isn't necessarily a vintage image, it lends itself beautifully for this soft colouring technique. Hold on to your cuppa something wonderful as I tell you I coloured it with sponges. I know!

I pulled out my entire palette of distress inks and every sponge wedge I own and went to town. It's a terrific, quick colouring technique that Stamper's Sampler asked me submit several cards done this way for publication. If you want to see them, I have them in this blog post. I stamped the image using Espresso Adirondack ink and then stamped Vintage Life Background Stamp over top and immediately started sponging which smudges the words over the image.

To continue with the hop, here's the order;

Anita Chapman-Hovey  

Selma Stevenson  

Dina Roedel Kowal  

Olga Jewell  

Loretta Mitchell Lock (you are here)  

Clare Curcio 

 Debbie Seyer  

Angelica Turner 

Linda Payne 



Enjoy!!!

stamps; clematis/cottage set, vintage life background set (heartfelt creations)
paper; ancestry (K&Co), geneva, walnut creme (bazzill) 

ink; espresso adirondack, forest moss, peeled paint, fired brick, victorian velvet, milled lavender, stormy sky, antique linen, tea dye, vintage photo, walnut stain distress ink (ranger) 

accessories; jumbo border punch (ek success), natural lace pack (kaiser craft), satin ribbon, linen thread (SU!), modern brown button (bazzill), cowboy dew drops (the robin's nest)  

Heartfelt Creations Easter card and Design Team announcement

Today at Heartfelt Creations, we are wishing a fond farewell to 9 of the current design team members: Clare Curcio, Debbie Seyer, Peggy Cain, Selma Stevenson, Gini Cagle, Linda Payne, Dee Jackson, Rosemary Dennis, and Anita Hovey. We wish you a double blessing on all of your future creative endeavors. Visit their blogs and please thank each one of them for all the creative projects they have shared featuring Heartfelt Creations projects.

Ten of the current Heartfelt Creations design team members will continue for another 6 month term: Lisa Gregory, Angelica Turner, Kristina King, Olga Jewell, Lisa Somerville, Cheryl Walker, Giovana Smith, Loretta Lock (ME!), Olena Levchenko, and Kerry Urbatch. We are excited for another creative term with these ladies.

We would also like to extend a warm welcome to 10 new design team finalists that will be joining the Heartfelt Creations design team for the next 6 months: Glenda Brooks, Therese Broman, Carla Suto, Lori Leng, Jan Hennings, Heidi Erickson, Lisa Lynne Wright, Marsha Sanderlin, Sue Walsh, and Joelle Hancox. Congrats Ladies! We look forward to working with you and taking the paper-crafting industry to new heights of inspiration.

For my project today, I used the Wrought Iron Cross set released in February.

There are specific instructions including measurements for this card on the Heartfelt Creations blog. I used copic markers to give the cross a wood look (E30, E31, E33, E35) and  vintage colouring on the flower (V01, V95, V99). I love the wrought iron flourishes on this image and wanted to give my card a heavier, wrought iron look by using the smaller dies from Lattice Pendant Die set.

Many of the Spellbinders die sets have small dies and I absolutely love them, but I am often at a loss for how to use them since my cards are often large. This tiny die fetish has deep roots back to collecting the tiny china animal figurines that came in Red Rose Tea packages when I was very young. Later, I found a small store in our local mall that sold smaller porcelain figures and I fell in love. I've apparently always had a 'thing' for small shapes and it has transferred to my Spellbinders dies. I don't mind not using them as long as I can gaze at them and tell them how cute they are! *I know - so sad and verging on requiring therapy* Still, I think they are so sweet, but I don't want to use them only to get lost on my cards. Last week on my Heartfelt Creations card I used the smallest labels 4 die to mount tiny butterflies on and was so pleased with myself. This week, I used the smallest Labels 17 die for the sentiment on my Easter card. BOOYAH! {insert happy dance here}

Go on over to the Heartfelt Creations blog to see the projects by the new design team! I am really looking forward to my next 6 months on this wonderful team.

stamps; wrought iron cross set (heartfelt creations
paper; blackberry swirl, walnut creme (bazzill), celeste paper pad (K&Co)
ink; black soot, antique linen, tea dye, vintage photo, walnut stain distress inks (ranger)
accessories; beetle black brads (bazzill), black satin ribbon (SU!), lattice pendant, labels 17 (spellbinders), piercing template #4.055.590 (Ornare)


let's ink it up #12 - easter
the crafty pad #115 - flowers 
I did it! #49 - anything goes
paper sundaes #63 - spring blossoms
pile it on #14 - fancy
all sorts #97 - bloomin blossoms
catch the bug - anything goes
everybody art - easter
papertake weekly - anything goes
tuesday throwdown #43 - spring
craft your passion - anything goes
craft us crazy - easter/spring 
stamp with fun - easter 
stamps R us - easter 
pink elephant - easter

SC204 Vintage Santa

I traced the pattern on the paper with my quickie glue pen and sprinkled it with glitter. It really doesn't look like the original paper, seen here at i {heart} papers. I used Autumn glitter from art institute which changes from copper to dark green. I find it interesting that I used the same glitter on the flourish, but it didn't hold much of the copper so it turned a bit of a different colour. A very curious anomally, and I have no explaination.

After using so much glitter, and the weather is so dry right now, I turned into a staticky glitter magnet and I was so shiny! There is glitter all over the house now. I'm thinking yay - it'll fit right in when we start decorating next week.

stamps; vintage christmas (crafty secrets)
paper; ivy (bazzill), pearlized garnet, pearlized latte (paper accents), changing colours dp (gcb studios loverly line)
ink; versafine sepia (tsukineko)
accessories; stick with it adhesive transfers - fancy that (doodlebug designs), autumn (art institute glitter), adhesive pearls (unknown)

While I have no love affair with black, at least there is no love lost anymore either! I will still choose brown over black if given a choice, but this absolutely de-lish new paper from Basic Grey removed all option for brown.

I figured out something absolutely fabulous. Forgive me if someone else discovered this first; I didn't know about it. I don't usually figure out techniques on my own, but necessity is the mother of all invention, and I was in dire need for this card.

I wanted to do pretty, frosty trees, but I had no grey craft ink and with the fine lines of this stamp, I was not even going to attempt re-stamping the image with versamark. That idea is just a disaster waiting to happen! I inked up my image with dye (classic) ink and then tried picking up versamark overtop. I got a partial tree trunk on my versamark pad. Not good! Then, I tried inking up the image with Versamark first and inking with dye ink on top of it. Ink on top of ink on the stamp. I stamped the image and then embossed. OH GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It worked. I'll be showing this fabulous trick to my hostess ladies a little later this month. I felt brilliant for a moment - then life knocked on my door, and I was just me again...

stamps; lovely as a tree (SU!), Give Thanks (by Anna Wight for Whipper Snapper)
paper; elephant, raven, coconut smoothie (bazzill), Ambrosia collection (basic grey)
ink; going grey, baha breeze, soft sky, basic grey (SU!), versamark (tsukineko)
accessories; irridescent ice ep, balck grosgrain ribbon (SU!), square rhinestone brads (making memories)