Let's All Welcome The Heart Desires!

Happy Friday, everyone!  And congratulations to my fab friend, Tonya Jastad, who has just opened her own shop, The Heart Desires!  My fellow design team gals and I are having a fun blog hop to celebrate this momentous occasion and to get the word out.  Yes, you heard right.  There's a design team so expect to see more of us crazy gals!

Please do stop by Tonya's shop and keep checking in for ever increasing crafty goodness.  And don't forget to leave a comment here and on the store blog for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate.  Now on to the hippity hop!

I had such a wonderful time making this card!  I adore the YNS Sprinkles bunny, the plaid, the ribbon--so perfectly spring!  Citrus colors are so happy happy!  Or should I saw hoppy hoppy?  LOL!

Do stop by and check out what the other gals have worked up.  I promise they're all fantastic!

Tonya (The Heart Desires)

Toni--you are here!

Lenae

Kimberly

Katie

Kate

Amy

The Details:  Your Next Stamp Sprinkles Coffee and Tea, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid 6x6 paper, Ranger Multi Medium Matte, Recollections sequins, Amy Tan ribbon, Waltzing Mouse stitched scalloped rectangle die, Simon Says stitched square die, transparency film, Copic YG0000, YG01, YG03, YG05, YR0000, YR00, YR02, YR04, YR07, R01, R12, R14, E0000, E02, E40, E42

I'm entering this in Seize the Birthday Water, Make My Monday Something Fluffy, Spring Coffee Lovers Blog hop

Carpe Diem, Gentle Readers!

I've got a fun coffee-themed card to share today.  Awesome sauce!  It showcases products available (and in some cases, coming soon) from The Hearts Desires, a new online papercrafting shop opened by my friend, Tonya Jastad.  Check it out and, hint hint, stop by again tomorrow for a little announcement.

I used all Hero Arts ombre inks on the card.  Love them!  The pads are made up of 3 felt strips, each a different shade; this is perfect for ombre on larger stamps and individual colors on smaller ones.  Notice the coffee beans have been roasted to differing degrees (Sand to Brown)?  So nice not having to get out 3 different full size pads to achieve that.  The sentiments use the pads as a unit to get a delicious gradation of color.  I used 2 different pads (Mint to Green and Tide Pool to Navy) so the ombre would work its way down the card. I also used the new Hero Arts Hello Gorgeous! stamp set.  I have been so into combining sentiments lately and could any set be better for that?!

I leave you with a reminder to stop by again tomorrow and see what's the what.  I promise it's fun!

I'm entering this in Color Throwdown #385, Addicted to Stamps and More! #186, Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, Littles Tangles #66 Ombre

The Details:  Hero Arts Ombre Sand to Brown, Mint to Green and Tide Pool to Navy (to be added to the store soon!), Hello Gorgeous!, Lawn Fawn Love You a Latte, Doodlebug sequins, Recollections 110lb white cardstock, Waltzingmouse stitched scalloped rectangle, MFT Summer Splash cardstock, gifted coffee stencil similar to TCW Coffee Ring

Stamplorations CAS March Mid-Month Reminder!

Can you believe March is already half over and you only have a couple of weeks to play along with the Stamplorations March Anything Goes with the optional twist of yellow?  Well, hello?!  You best get on it--LOL!

I love the SmallBirds set and thought the smallest would look so cute as Tweety Bird . . . twice over.  Adorable!  I roughly colored them with Copics in keeping with their sketchy look.  Isn't it nice that the Memory Box branch itself masks the second bird for some faux depth?  I added the Patchwork Frenzy Graphic Squares sentiment to the side as an extension of the branch to keep it subtle.  Tweeties must take center stage!

I do hope you'll play along with us.  See you on the yellow side!

Ink Storage

I recently bought the entire line of Hero Arts Ombre Inks.  Aren't they fab?  I cataloged them like I do all of my other inks; I had worked up my own grid in Word and have used it for all brands of ink except for the ombre (I combined rows to make them taller).  I designed it based on the size of PTI Square Prints.  I love that each brand can have its own square design.

At the same time I ink up the chart with a new color of ink, I also ink up a self-adhesive mailing label.  This I cut down into mini labels that I place on the front and side of the pad for easy visual identification.

Of course, with these additional pads, I am again reminded that I have exceeded the capacity of my current storage solutions.  I've found a couple of nice options but I think I'll mention this to my partner and see if that piques his interest enough to design the organizer in house.   

SU Cards from Kimberly

I wish we could have had everyone in blogland attend the SU party.  It was the bomb!  Lots of crafting and laughing and supporting each other.  Such great fun!

I'd like to share with you some additional cards that were made with the SU goodies we had at the shindig. These were done by Kimberly Wiener of Wienerhoneymooners.  If you're not familiar with her work, you should go take a look at her blog, like right now.  Fantastic, right?!  Miss Kimberly helped Tonya and me out with the SU party by coming up with some additional make n' takes.  She is sooooo good at that.  

Do visit Tonya's SU site if you're interested in picking up what I've shared with you recently or any of the other fab products.   The code is 9HZBDHKP.  One of our inside jokes is that we are such crafty enablers of each other.  So c'mon; let us help you help us.  LOL.

Die not currently available but could return.

Birthday Blooms, Deco Labels Thinlits

Honeycomb Happiness (Sale-a-bration!)

Go-to Set

I don't know about you but when I first learned about Stampin' Up, I thought the prices were on the high side.  Oh, yes, I totally said it.  BUT, now that I've used a few sets recently, I've discovered just how versatile they are; you get a lot of stamps in each set that coordinate together and with other sets.   That is bang for your buck which, despite what my partner believes about my crafty spending habits, is what I aim for.

Check out these cards as an example.  Both use the same stamp set.  And let's not forget about these cards or this one which featured the same set too.  Bang. Buck. Love!

The Details:  SU Butterfly Basics, Hero Arts Shadow Ink Lime Green, VersaFine Onyx Black, Recollections 110lb white cardstock, Glossy Accents, gold foil washi

I'm entering this in Crafty Cardmakers #159 Go Green,  Simon Says Bit o' Green
One Layer Simplicity Let Green March In

Card 2 Details:  SU Butterfly Basics, Hero Arts Shadow Ink Forever Green, Versamark, Ranger Gold Embossing Powder, Recollections 110lb white cardstock, Bazzill green textured cardstock, Papertrey Ink linen texture plate

I'm entering this in Mod Squad Easy Being Green,  Addicted to Stamps and More #184 CAS

Remember, if you like what you see, consider hopping over to Tonya's site to pick up the set and use the code 9HZBDHKP which you enter in a new field under the special offers section of the online order shopping bag.  More inspiration with this set to come!

Sepia Sympathy

I wanted to go a totally different direction with the SU Birthday Bloom set this time.  I'd never colored in neutrals like this before so learned quite a lot.   I wanted to use one of the neutral SU papers (not currently available) as a background so chose colors that went with that.  As usual, I colored up the flower then added deeper shadows and, in this case, used a white pigment pen to color white along the top of the petals which I blended in with my finger.  I had also used the lightest of greens on the leaves to give a hint of color.  I wish I could say I had chosen the sentiment before I started but, nope, pure luck that I had something that fit so perfectly.  Whew!

And here, again, is my previous card with this bloom.  Similar and yet so so different!

I cannot believe the SU party is only 3 days away!  Remember, if you like what you see, consider hopping over to Tonya's site to pick up the set and use the code 9HZBDHKP which you enter in a new field under the special offers section of the online order shopping bag. More inspiration with this set to come!

The Details:  SU Birthday Blooms and Hexagon Hive thinlit die, Memento Luxe Rich Cocoa, mystery cling rubber sentiment, Ranger superfine clear embossing powder, Copic 0, E40, E49, E71, E74, E77, YG91, YG99

I'm entering the sepia card in Inkspirational #103 Geometric, Mod Squad Easy Being Green, Simon Says A Bit o' Green  

More Butterfly Basics

I'm still loving the butterflies so worked up a couple of quick cards.  Seriously.  No joke.  Quick.   For the first card I swiped alcohol inks across glossy cardstock using a gloved finger then die cut the giant butterfly from it.  Dried within a few seconds.  So pretty.  So easy.  I next stamped the sentiment on a plain piece of cardstock then diecut the hexagon hive from it.  This allowed me to pop up parts of the sentiment, at different heights although you can't tell from this pic.

I'm entering this in Cards in Envy Beautiful Butterflies, Simon Says Wednesday A Bit o' Green, Addicted to Stamps and More #184 CAS

The Details:  SU Butterflies Thinlit, Hexagon Hive Thinlit,  and Butterfly Basics sentiment, Recollections 110lb white cardstock, Versafine Onyx Black, Adirondack alcohol inks, 80lb glossy cardstock

Now this card looks so complicated but is so not.  First I stamped the lacy butterflies using an ombre ink pad (look how fancy that turned out without doing anything special!).  I stamped the sentiment next, luckily I hadn't gotten so butterfly happy that I didn't leave sufficient room for it.  Then I took a repeating stencil (diamonds, I think), placed it over the card front, and drew a single dot right in the center of each diamond.  Is that not fab?  Thanks to Julie Ebersole for that tip from a recent card-making class.  The striped panel on the side?  Washi tape.  Love!  This would be one-layer if I hadn't added that strip of black, which I could have done with a marker instead--duh!

I'm entering this in TIME OUT #51 Easter/Spring (without optional twist of masking)

The Details:  SU Butterfly Basics, Heidi Swapp washi tape, Versafine Onyx Black, Recollections ombre ink pad, and white and black110lb cardstock, Sakura Glaze black pen, Ranger Transparent Gloss Texture Paste, TCW Art Is stencil

Tonya's SU site

SU Butterfly Basis Set

SU Hexagon Hive die

Balloon Butterflies

Can you believe I was going to toss these butterflies away?  I die cut them from a couple of smooshed watercolor panels and assembled them into a card that I absolutely hated.   Good thing I waited a few days and gave them a second life!

Inspired?  Consider hopping over to Tonya's site to pick up some goodies and use the code 9HZBDHKP which you enter in a new field under the special offers section of the online order shopping bag.  Thanks!

The Details:  Stampin' Up Butterfly Basics, Butterflies thinlets, Distress inks, VersaFine Onyx Black, Stampendous detail fine black embossing powder, Copic Multiliner 0.3, Recollections 110lb white cardstock

I'm entering this in CAS Mix Up, Cards in Envy Beautiful Butterflies

(Sorta Shabby) Chic Birthday

I absolutely love script backgrounds--L.O.V.E!  I took a piece of leftover cream watercolor paper and stamped the script using Distress Ink and randomly splattered the same.  Still a bit too un-vintage.  What to do?  Fire!  I used a grill lighter to roast the edges all around.  Squee!  I wish I had done this over a sink just in case since the fire moved so quickly once it got going.  Background:  check!  Safety:  need a lesson from Smokey the Bear.

Next I colored up one of my current favorite stamps (thanks, Tonya!; the hostess code is 9HZBDHKP).  I used an 80lb paper when coloring so adhered another layer using Scor-Tape to make it nice and sturdy.  Then I fussy cut the lot out.  Focal image:  check!

I had a tough time deciding on the sentiment and its placement.  I settled on a seal of sorts with gold text which reminds me of seal wax.  I mounted the flower on foam tape, hiding the blah end of the seal banner.  Birthday card:  check!

The Details:  Stampin' Up Birthday Blooms, Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages and kraft cardstock, Inkadinkado Script, Distress Ink Vintage Photo, Versamark, Ranger gold embossing powder, Recollections 110lb black and white cardstock, Artist's Loft 140lb cold press watercolor paper, Hammermill 80lb color copy cardstock, Scor-Tape, Copic R00, R39, R43, R46, YG11, YG17, YG51, YG63, YG67, G29

I'm entering this is Shopping Our Stash #241 White Out, Allsorts #353 International Women's Day,  Seize the Birthday Anything Goes, Try it on Tuesdays Feminine and Fancy