July Technique Blog Hop: Interactive Elements

This month's technique blog hop features interactive elements.  (Think: I like to move it, move it!)  Be sure to visit everyone on the hop for some fabulous ideas!  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Wendy's blog.  From here, you'll visit Melissa's blog next.)

Since my husband and I recently celebrated our 26th anniversary AND we are RVing out West, I knew that I had to make a pretty special card.  The Wander Cardmaking stamp set and Thin Cuts were what I had to use with the limited supplies that I brought with me, and they were perfect!  (I was inspired by a card I found on Pinterest HERE but put my own twist on the design.)

After inking the sentiment up in Toffee, Sapphire, and Evergreen, I stamped it onto White Daisy cardstock and then used a Wander Die Cuts frame and arrow to highlight the "belly band" sentiment.  I fussy cut the s'mores stamp after stamping with Toffee ink.

Here's a closeup of the mountains inked up in Mink and Evergreen plus the river inked up in Glacier and Sapphire then brushed with Clear and Sapphire shimmer brushes.

If you're interested in creating a similar card, here are the specs: I stared with an Evergreen 4.25"x5.5" panel.  I then cut two Evergreen pieces that were 5.5"x5" and scored at 4.25" (to make a 4.25"x5.5" panel with a tab).  Next, I cut from the scored line to .75" from the bottom of the opposite edge.  Finally, I adhered the "wings" to the back of the base panel.

Finally, for the center panel, I cut a piece of White Daisy cardstock 4"x5.25" and a piece of Wander patterned paper at 4"x6".  I folded the excess across the top to make a tab to adhere the Wander paper to the White Daisy base.

I had a lot of fun creating the mountain scenes on the "wings" and then the little camper scene on the center panel.  After Thin Cutting the trees, I sponged them with Sage and Evergreen inks respectively and stamped the center images in the same colors.  After stamping the camper in Sapphire, I fussy cut it and then colored the wheels and hitch with my black journaling pen.  It may not show very well, but I painted the pond with clear shimmer brush so that it shines in the "moonlight."

I inked the sentiment in Toffee and Sapphire, and then inked the campfire in Sundance and Toffee to create my final sentiment for our anniversary card.

My husband was pretty impressed with his anniversary card!  Here we are at (windy!) Yellowstone Canyon on our anniversary.

Here's to 26 years!

Thanks for letting me share my interactive anniversary card with you!  Please leave a comment before you hop on over to Melissa's blog next to continue the July Interactive Elements Technique Hop.

July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: Strong Roots

Close To My Heart has a welcoming July stamp of the month, Strong Roots.  Join me and my fellow CTMH maker blog hop group to showcase this pretty set on this month's stamp of the month blog hop.  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Darlys's blog.  From here, you'll visit Krista's blog next.)

When I saw this set, I knew that I wanted to make a card for my mom.  I decided to modify a sketch from Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 2 (Pattern 20) for my card.  I used the Woodgrain collection from the core catalog for my base and then cut pieces with my Stitched Rectangles Thin Cuts.

I stamped the large tree in Espresso and then colored it with my CTMH watercolor pencils.  Then, I used some "smooshed up" Saran wrap and pounced it in Peacock Feathers distressed oxide ink and then pounced ink onto my background.  I flicked water with a waterbrush to create a watercolor effect.

In addition to adding gold shimmer trim and gold glitter gems, I painted my wooden heart with gold shimmer brush.

I especially love the door and key stamps and can't wait to play with them!

Thank you for letting me share my Strong Roots card with you.  Please leave a comment before clicking on her name to visit Krista's blog next to continue the hop!

{Click HERE for all the hop participants and their blogs.}

Hillside Cottage Scrapbook Workshop: Layout 2

The second layout in the Hillside Cottage scrapbooking workshop was ideal for my Mother's Day photos this year!

While the little Dutch girl die cuts are cute, they didn't fit in with my photos, so I will use her on another project.  This particular workshop recommends adding Black Liquid Pearls, which I didn't have, so I substituted Black Sparkles instead.  Check out the before...

...and after!  I amazed at what a difference those little dots make!  You could even add them with a journaling pen or marker if you wanted.

Check out the right side, before...

...and after. 

I love how this layout turned out!  Thanks for letting me share this special day with you.  You can find all of the Hillside Cottage collection HERE.

 

Hillside Cottage Scrapbook Workshop: Layout 1

Close To My Heart's scrapbooking workshops make it so easy to create some amazing layouts.  The Hillside Cottage scrapbooking workshop is no exception!

At first I thought I would use this layout for my Mother's Day photos, but instead I decided the second layout of the collection would be a better match and that this one matched our daughter's birthday photos.  I know it doesn't necessarily look like a birthday layout, but that is okay!

I forgot to take a close up of the left page, but I'm glad to show you some tips for the right side.

I decided to add a 4"x12" flip flap (that I had in my stash; we currently carry 6"x12" and 8"x12") to add the rest of her birthday photos and a birthday element stamped with the Wishing You Everything stamp set & Thin Cuts.  I cut the stickers that overlap the top and the bottom of the photo flap in half so that the panel would open easily yet still overlap my photos.

It's hard to believe that our baby is 20!  Remember that the Hillside Cottage collection is available through the end of June, so check out all of your options HERE.

June Stamp of the Month Layout

This layout came from the More Than  You'll Ever Know special last month using the current Mix-In paper packs, and I knew that it would be a good match for photos of our "new" motor home.  I had to add elements of the June stamp of the month, Outdoor Borders, to provide more of that camping theme.

The tags are from the Mix-In collection.  One side is patterned paper, and the other side is a collage of cool tags to cut out as needed.

Can you see how I stamped and cut out the little speech bubbles from the border stamp?

I also stamped a pair of boots from one of the border stamps directly onto my layout.

Don't forget that the Outdoor Borders stamp of the month is only available in June!

You Are Enough Layout

Right before our world locked down in March of 2020, my husband and I had an epic date night at a fundraiser, "The Big Prom," for our local college scholarship program.  I decided the You Are Enough collection had the perfect papers to coordinate with our photos from that fun evening.

I decided that this cute banner pattern from the NEW Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 5 how-to guide.  Here are close ups of the pages:

I used a variety of the rose-gold-foil-embossed cardstock and patterned papers (plus zip strips) along with several of the stickers from the You Are Enough collection.  I also added Blue Belle glitter gems.

The great thing about our how-to guides/recipes is just like in cooking, you can adjust elements to fit your taste.  I really like how these pages turned out from our super-fun night!  Be sure to check out all of our how-to guides HERE!  

June Stamp of the Month & Just a Note Cards

The June stamp of the month, Outdoor Borders, is such a fun one to play with!  (Maybe because it's summer and therefore time to play?)  No matter what, I want to thank my talented friend and Heart2Heart design team member, Cat Nowak, for the inspiration for these cards.

I practically copied her card with the card on the bottom.  For both, I stamped tone-on-tone on the lighter side of Candy Apple, Nectarine, Lemonade, Green Apple, Bluebird, and Grape cardstock with the matching inks.  I cut the White Daisy sentiments from with my Stitched Fancy Brackets Thin Cuts.  They both use the Just a Note stamp set in black with black bursts as embellishments.

I'm curious to know if you prefer the sentiment offset or centered.  Please leave a comment!  Thanks!

Remember, the June stamp of the month, Outdoor Borders, is only available until the end of this month!  Get yours before it's gone!

H2H Challenges: Let's Hear It for the Boys!

 Heart2Heart Challenge's second June challenge is a timely one for Father's Day, but you can celebrate any of the boys or men in your life with this theme, Let's Hear It for the Boys!

I used the All-Star Birthday stamp set and the Stars and Sparklers collection to create this shaker card for my Dad for Father's Day.  (He hasn't seen it yet since he was gone for the weekend.  We are getting together tonight to celebrate him, which also allows my hubby to get his own day of celebration, although he doesn't mind sharing.)  My dad is such a blessing to our entire family.

Here's a close up of the shaker window.  I used our star shaker Thin cuts and acetate/foam kit, plus added Blue Belle sequins and mini gold star confetti.  (If I were to make this card again, I would add in some Scarlett stars in the shaker window.)  I stamped the central star/sentiment with Carolina ink.  I stamped the star border with Sapphire and added some gold shimmer trim to make this card a little extra festive.

Be sure to celebrate your boys and men at H2H Challenges!  You can link up until the end of June for this one!  Happy Father's Day to all the amazing dads out there!

Layered Butterflies and You Are Enough Cards

To say that I love the Layered Butterflies Thin Cuts is an understatement!  Here are two cards I've made with them and the You Are Enough paper collection.  (These are only available through the end of the month.)

Let me know if you have any questions!

June Technique Blog Hop: Sunburst

Here comes the sun!  (How many of you are humming or singing along already?)  It's time for a very cheerful blog hop, the June Technique Blog Hop, featuring fun sunburst techniques.  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrive from Michelle's blog.  From here, you'll click on her name to visit Danielle's blog next.)

I used the Starburst Thin Cuts background to create four of these cards (two shown here)!  The "stamples" in the May/June Idea Book showed four different pieces of paper for each burst, so I chose four of my favorite Sapphire and Blue Belle papers from the You Are Enough paper collection and cut each one with the Sunburst Thin Cuts.  You could make your own sunburst with rectangles cut in half to make triangles, but seriously, the Thin Cuts die makes it super easy!  

I used the You Are Enough stamp set and Thin Cuts to cut and stamp the medallion on the lighter side of Blue Belle cardstock.  (For the first card, I stamped the medallion with Sapphire ink but the second one uses Blue Belle ink.)  I stamped the sentiment for both with Sapphire ink and embellished them both with Blue Belle sparkles.

Please leave a comment before continuing the Sunburst Technique Blog Hop by visiting Danielle's blog next.  Thank you!

Graduation 2020 (At Last!)

Our older daughter finished her undergraduate degree from home last May and got her cap, gown, and diploma in the mail.  She was thrilled that Oglethorpe offered the Class of 2020 a traditional graduation on the Sunday after the Class of 2021 traditional graduation.  Here's the 5"x7" card that I made for her to celebrate this milestone.

For the background, I spread Solar Flare stickles glitter gel across the top and bottom and set aside to dry.  The black polka dot paper is from the current Mix-In collection, with Canary and gold shimmer trim.  The stamp set is retired but worked perfectly for her card.  Here are some close ups:

I used the circle shaker Thin Cuts for the frame and the Canary star confetti, plus I added silver loose sequins and mini gold star confetti to the shaker window.

Four black enamel dots finished it off!  Thanks for letting me share this milestone!

She graduated Magna cum Laude with Honors!

June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: Outdoor Borders

 Can you believe it's June already?!?  Time for the stamp of the month blog hop featuring Outdoor Borders!  (If you're already hopping then you've probably arrived from Miss Carrie's Creations blog.  From here you'll visit Darlys's blog next.)

For my project, I created a 6"x8" title page for a mini album to celebrate our travels in our new (to us) motor home!  We have loved our 5th wheel, but it was time to upgrade for many reasons.  I had always wished that I had a mini album of our camper travels, so I am starting this adventure off right.  I used the Mix-In collection, Outdoor Borders stamp set (in black) to create the three "tags" and the mountain range, plus my CTMH/Cricut You Are Here collection to cut the highway and the license plate.  I embellished the page with strips of Blue Belle glitter paper and pearls.

Here are all of the border stamps in this set (so don't you see so many great possibilities?):

Thanks for letting my share!  I'm looking forward to creating several pages with this set prior to our first trip.  Please leave a comment before continuing on to Darlys's blog next!

{Click HERE for all the hop participants and their blogs.}