Cast Your Burden Sympathy Card

Welcome to another Heartfelt Creations Wednesday!

I'm so glad you could join me!

Grab a warm beverage, kick your feet up and stay awhile!

I'm continuing to work with the "Butterfly Medley" collection this week.

I decided I wanted to create a more muted card that could be used as an encouragement or sympathy card.  Even though this collection boasts bright spring colors, it's so easy to pair several lighter colors together and create a calm and soothing piece that speaks to the heart. 

I decided to go with a pale teal color paired with whites and yellows.  

The dandelion stamp in the Botanical Swirls Cling Stamp Set was the perfect image for this type of card. 

Before a detailed description, let's take a peek...

I've stamped the image in a soft Gray Flannel Memento ink and colored it with soft greens and yellows from the Spectrum Noir Blendable Pencils line.

Here's a closer look at the stamped image...

 I've stamped and die cut a few images from the Butterfly Medley Cling Stamp Set and colored them in pale yellows so they just kind of blend into the card scheme.  As you can see there's some amount of distressing that has taken place to give the card a more tattered look.  The image panel has been adhered to the background die cut and has then been popped up off the card front using 3D pop dots.  The bible verse has also been stamped in Gray Flannel Memento ink and has been popped up off the card as well giving it even more dimension.  This wonderful scripture stamp set can also be purchased at the Heartfelt Creations online store.   The finishing touch to the creation is the cream colored twine and a lone button.

A simple and easy creation, perfect to have on hand for someone who needs a little lift, or for expressing your condolences.  (For full instructions on how to recreate this card, please see the HC blog.)

Also, remember that there is another breathtaking collection of new projects on the Heartfelt Creations blog today...it's chalked full of beauty and lots of inspiration.  Be sure to stop by and visit a few of the design teams blogs and leave some love!  I'd love to hear what you think of this creation as well...feel free to leave a comment and maybe even become a follower!  I'd love to share more with you!

Until next time...

This card has been shared in the following challenges...
Crafting for all Seasons..."Dies/Punches"
Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge..."Lots of Layers"
Whimsy Stamps Challenges..."Use a Sentiment"
Word Art Wednesday..."Anything Goes"
Cuttin and Stampin Challenge..."Anything Goes"
Fan-Tastic Tuesday..."Anything Goes with the twist to Use a Button(s)"
Inky Chicks..."Flowers"
Crafting from the Heart..."Anything Goes"
Craft Your Passion..."Anything Goes"
Crafty Boots..."Use a Sentiment"
Love to Scrap..."Anything Goes"
My Craft Creations..."Anything Goes"
A Girl Who Crafts Challenge..."Anything Goes"
Crafts Galore Encore..."Use a Stamp or Digi" 
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge..."February Challenge"
Creative Craft Cottage..."Use a Sentiment"
Die Cut Divas..."Words, Quotes and Sentiments"
Come and Get It Challenges..."Layer it On"

Happiness is Being with You

Welcome!

It's Wednesday, which means it's a Heartfelt Creations project I've prepared to share with you today!

I feel that I must start this blog post with a confession...and a craft disclaimer!  LOL

What you are about to see here today is something that has not been seen on this blog EVER!

Preview at your own risk!

Hopefully there are still some of you with me after that!

My confession...I am not a real scrapbooker!

I have not completed a scrapbook page in the last 3 years or so I would say!

A blank 12x12 page scares me...and I panic wondering how I am supposed to fill up all that space on a page.  I dislike cutting my photos, I find it stressful to create a layout...and it takes me forever!

That all being said, I decided to take a plunge into the unknown and try a layout for Heartfelt Creations this week!

Ready for a preview?

Let me show you another angle...

I have to say that I actually enjoyed myself creating this project!

Oh don't get me wrong...there were still moments of great angst...but the Heartfelt Creations collections just make it so easy to pull it all together!

This photo is a snapshot of my Grandma with my daughter when she was three months old.  When I saw the sentiment on the bottom of the paper I've used, I knew this would be the perfect picture to use....Grandma always thought that being with her great grandchildren was pure happiness!  I also knew I had to fussy cut the top sentiment because she felt that those little people were masterpieces.

Let's take a close look at some of the elements on the page...

I've accented the photo with one of the gorgeous Heartfelt Creations corner dies.  I've also used a ticket sentiment from the Butterfly Medley paper pack and placed a rose cluster around it.  These roses remind me of the wild roses that grow in the ditches around our area!  They are beautiful and come in beautiful pinks and reds.  I've used one of the stamps from the collection for the focal point behind the photograph.  It's been stamped onto a blank card panel and then colored with Spectrum Noir colored pencils.  

How about some close up of some of the botanical roses...

...and this collection has such beautiful butterflies...

...here's another view...

For the full instructions on how this layout was created, be sure to check out the end of this blog post or the Heartfelt Creations blog. While you're there, be sure to check out the other design team members creations.  They are sure to wow you!

That's all for me today!

Thanks for indulging me and taking a peek at my scrapbook page.  

Hopefully you're good with me attempting this again sometime!

Practice will make perfect!  Ha, ha, ha!

Until next time...

Project Supplies and Instructions
HCDP1-251 Butterfly Medley Paper Collection
HCPC-3653 Botanical Rose Bouquet Cling Stamp Set
HCPC-3650 Butterfly Medley Cling Stamp Set
HCPC-3651 Botanical Rose Cling Stamp Set
HCD1-759  Butterfly Medley Die
HCD1-758 Botanical Wings Die
HCD2-752 Cut Mat Create 2B Die
HCD1-728 Timeless Amour Die
ANC850 Spring Bling Prills Lemon Chiffon
SMP001 Stamp Mat Pad
159223 Paper Blossoms Molding Mat
459222 Paper Blossoms Tool Kit
273900 Zip Dry Glue
TSMP400  Rose Bud Memento Dye Ink Pad
TSMP707  Bamboo Leaves Memento Dye Ink Pad
TSMP708  Olive Grove Memento Dye Ink Pad
TSMP602  Teal Zeal Memento Dye Ink Pad

Other Products Used:  scor tape, Stampin Up Inks - Positively Pink and Basic Black, Versa Color Pine Cone ink, BigShot manual die cutting machine, lace ribbon, washi tape, Spectrum Noir Blending Pencils (041, 035, 034, 031, 030, 057, 059), Spectrum Noir Blending Solution and blending stumps, white card stock, 3D pop dots, finger daubers,  Memento Ink Pads - Gray Flannel, Angel Pink, Lulu Lavender,  Stickles - Ice Blue, Mercury Glass, Pink Taffeta

Locate the "Happiness is Being With You" sentiment 12"x12" page within the Butterfly Medley Paper Collection.  Ink all the edges with a brown colored ink.  Set aside and locate the the large 5"x7" blank card panel pictured. Ink all edges of the panel with brown ink as well.    Create a mask around the oval on the card panel using washi tape, and stamp the image onto the centre of the panel using black ink.  Once dry, color using Spectrum Noir markers and blending solution.  Next locate the paper in the collection with the blue flower clusters, and cut slightly larger than the 5"x7" card panel.  You will be using this as a mat behind the stamped image panel.  Using the same paper, create a mat for your photo.  Ink both of these mats with brown colored ink around all edges.  Fussy cut the sentiment strip for the side of the layout, as well as the the tag sentiment located on the picture and lastly the sentiment strip used across the stamped image card panel.  Ink all edges of these elements with brown ink as well.  Attach the ribbon lace to the side of the layout and then the long sentiment strip on top of it.  Attach ribbon to the top and one side of the image panel as shown.  Adhere blue floral paper mat to the layout, then adhere the colored image panel staggered off to one side of the flower mat.  Mat your photo and then adhere it to the layout.  Die cut two corners from the Cut Mat Create 2B die set.  Apply one corner to the top of the colored image panel and one to the opposite corner on the photo.  Adhere the ticket sentiment to the side of the photo where you will be placing  a flower cluster as shown. Die cut 3 lace hearts at this time as well.  Begin flowers by stamping the images onto white card stock in pink and then inking some with a darker color pink and some with a lighter color pink on the edges of the petals.  Ink the back of the petals slightly as well as some of them will be standing off the page and the back side will be seen.  Shape flowers using a mist of water, flower shaping mat and tools. Die cut with the coordinating die.  Create some with layers and some as singles.  Set aside to dry and once dry, ink each petal tip slightly with a soft brown ink.  Add prills to the centre of each blossom.  Begin placing the flowers along the side of the layout and create a cluster on the corner of the photo near the colored card panel.  Once happy with placement adhere to page.  Stamp leaves in a darker brown ink onto a piece of green patterned paper from the paper collection.  Add a touch of light green to the centre of each leaf, and then die cut using the coordinating die.  Ink the edge of each leaf with a darker color green.  Once again using a mist of water, and flower shaping mat and tools shape each leaf.  Begin placement among the flowers and adhere to page once happy with placement.  Adhere the three die cut lace hearts as shown.  Stamp butterfly images onto white cardstock using Gray Flannel Memento ink.   Color with several different shades using finger daubers.  Then add Stickles to each butterfly.  Bend the butterflies ever so slightly to give them some dimension.  Add to each heart die cut in the  layout using 3D pop dots to give them the look of resting on the flowers. Your layout is now ready to gift, or to hang on display proudly in your home!

Bring on Spring!

It's Wednesday again...which means it's a Heartfelt Creations 

post here on the blog today!

It's a new release day today and Heartfelt Creations has created another beautiful collection filled with gorgeous colors, flowers and butterflies!

Here's a little about the new Butterfly Medley Collection...

Are you longing for springtime...dreaming of sunny hours spent in a lavish flower garden where butterflies flit lazily from blossom to blossom?  Heartfelt Creations invites you to revel in the beauty of springtime with the release of the Butterfly Medley Collection of stamps, dies, and papers.  This uplifting collection is bursting with bountiful botanical roses and a kaleidoscope of fanciful butterflies.  Soft shades of pastel peach, lilac, sage, lemon, teal and pink are the perfect counterpoint for the bleak, grey days of mid-winter.  Beautifully landscaped backgrounds include pastel plaids, cheery polka-dots, flowing script, classic stripes, elegant flourishes, seed packets, garden themed sentiments and images.  Six hand drawn stamp sets featuring botanical roses and butterflies can be paired with two sets of dies, allowing you to stamp and die cut a host of embellishments with a single pass through your die cutting machine.  You'll dream in beauty, plant seeds of encouragement and reap a harvest of creativity when you design with the Butterfly Medley Collection from Heartfelt Creations.

Now when I saw the previews of this collection several months ago, my heart just fluttered at how this reminded me of my flower bed!

Several years ago, my husband and kids created a flower bed for me for mothers day as my gift!

It remains one of my favorite gifts I have ever received from them.  

They dug out the kidney shaped bed they knew I was wanting around my favorite tree on the yard, and the fun began.  We had a family trip to the greenhouses, picked out flowers together and decided that we wanted to plant a garden that would attract hummingbirds and butterflies.  

Since I had spring on the mind, I also had a garden hat idea swirling around in my thoughts as well.

Don't you just love beautiful garden hats...especially when they're worn to garden tea parties!!!!

Truth be told, I don't have any pretty garden hats...oh how I wish I did...but I look just dreadful in a hat!  LOL

Let me show you the 3D Butterfly Medley Garden Hat I created

 to announce this beautiful collection!

This entire project has been created using the new paper collection!

...allow me to show you a close up 

of the creation without the stand...

...and one last peek at the delicate flowers and gorgeous butterflies...

This project just makes my heart scream "Bring on Spring"!
The colors I've chosen to work with also make me think of Easter!
Remember Easter bonnets of days long ago?

I have a feeling that this collection will move quickly, just as the Birds and Blooms Collection did last month...so don't wait to visit the Heartfelt Creations store to avoid disappointment!
And, to gain even more beautiful inspiration, be sure to visit the HC blog to see all of the other lovely creations the design team members have created!
Your heart will be ready for spring as well by the time you're done visiting!

Until next time...

Project Supplies and Instructions
HCDP1251 Butterfly Medley Paper Collection
HCPC3651 Botanical Rose Cling Stamp Set
HCD1758  Botanical Wings Die
SMP001 Stamp Mat Pad
159223 Paper Blossoms Molding Mat
459222 Paper Blossoms Tool Kit
TSMP802 Memento Peanut Brittle Ink
ANC852 Bright Ideas Prills - Go ManGo
273900 Zip Dry Glue

Other Products Used:  Garden Hat SVG file purchased on Etsy, Silhoutte Cameo electronic die cutting machine, white card stock, Stampin Up Inks - Basic Black, Gable Green, Orchid Opulence, Pink Passion, Lovely Lilac, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink and Positively Pink, Crystal Stickles, lace ribbon, Versa Color Pine Cone ink, thin lilac colored ribbon, medium width lilac colored ribbon, thin black crafting wire, Big Shot Manual die cutting machine, Zutter Bow It All Bow Maker, hot glue gun, finger daubers

Begin by choosing the paper you wish to use from the Butterfly Medley paper collection for the the foundation of the  garden hat.  Using your electronic die cutting machine and the purchased SVG file, cut out pattern and assemble according to directions.  Adhere wide decorative lace ribbon to base of hat as shown.  Next adhere the thin lilac color ribbon as shown in photo, around the base of the hat over top of  the lace ribbon,  being sure to leave long enough ribbon tails to fall gracefully off the creation.  Create your double bow using a medium width lilac colored ribbon, being sure to leave excess ribbon on the ends to have hang gracefully off the side along with the thin ribbon.  Using a hot glue gun, adhere to the side of the hat where you have the tails of the thin ribbon hanging off of.  Allow to dry.  Stamp flowers in pink and purple ink several times, depending on how many blooms you wish to add to your creation.  Die cut using the coordinating die.  Using a finger dauber, ink each bloom with a coordinating color just a shade darker than the color they have been stamped in.  Shape each bloom, creating some as single blossoms, some as double and some as triple.  Also create some buds to use in the centres of some of the flowers.  (Be sure to check out Heartfelt Creations YouTube channel for easy to follow step by step flower coloring and shaping).  Add prills to open flower centres.  Cut out the ticket sentiment from the paper pack that you wish to use on the project and ink all edges with brown ink.  Adhere ticket sentiment to front of hat, and begin adhering flower clusters going along one side to the back of the hat, and also a small cluster on top of the double ribbon on the side.  Using black ink, stamp several large butterflies and several small butterflies.  Allow to dry, die cut and then color using finger daubers.  Shape the butterflies you wish to use as the 3D version, and adhere just the bent centre of the body to the matching flat butterfly centre.  Shape the butterfly antannae for the larger butterfly using a thin black crafting wire, and adhere at the same time you are attaching the butterfly bodies.  Allow butterflies to dry and then with a hot glue gun, adhere to flower arrangements as shown.  May I suggest holding a garden tea party where your newly created garden hat project can be showcased as the beautiful table centrepiece?  Enjoy!

This project has been shared in the following challenges...
Crafty Gals Corner..."Anything Goes"
Decorate to Celebrate..."Anything Goes" (tea party centerpiece)
Ruby's Rainbow..."Soon Be Spring"

More Vintage Beauty

Happy Friday!

I thought I'd pop in today with another quick post boasting another vintage style Valentine.

Nothing too fancy...but a beauty none the less (at least I think so, and hopefully you do as well)!

Ta da!

Just a little teaser of what's to come!  LOL

This card has been created with the Graphic 45 Collection "Sweet Sentiments".

I love all things Graphic 45, don't you?

I really wanted to give this card an aged feeling, so I decided to distress parts of the paper and then ink them with a brown ink.  

I had a few patina like flowers left over from my wall plaque creation and thought they blended in beautifully with the colors on this card.  

Ready for the full effect?

...we're getting closer...

...how about another view...

Well, that's all for me today!

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit...I so do appreciate it!

Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know you've been here!

Until next time...
ABC Challenges..."C is for Cupid"
Emerald Faeries Challenge..."All You Need is Love"
Vintage Challenge..."All You Need is Love"
Brown Sugar Challenge Blog..."Anything Goes"
Aud Sentiments Challenge..."Love or Valentine"
DL Art..."Valentine"

Do It Yourself Home Decor Wall Plaque

Welcome to another Heartfelt Creations Wednesday!

I'm so glad you've stopped by to visit and to take a peek at

 the creation I wanted to share with you today!

I was wanting to create something a little bit different with the Birds and Blooms Collection, and while browsing in Michaels last week I came up with the idea to do a home decor piece!

They were just putting out the most delicious chipboard shapes, frames, words, plaques, etc. and I thought it would be fantastic to create a wall plaque!

I wanted to age the chipboard pieces and finally decided that I would go for the patina look!

 Later on in the post, I'll show you how easy it was to achieve this look using a little paint, water, sandpaper, and some other goodies that I had hiding in my craft room!

Let's begin with a peek at the finished project!

...and a second peek from a different angle with a close of up of the flowers...

Now, you will find that I have all of the instructions on how this project has been created on the bottom of the blog post...however, I decided that I would give you a quick tutorial on getting the patina look I achieved here.  

I had so much fun doing this!  I could get a little bit messy and was really quite curious on how this would all turn out!

Let's begin...

Gather your unfinished chipboard plaque, green paint, water spray bottle, sponge brush and paint tray.  Make sure you are either working on a splat mat or have paper covering your crafting table.  

Pour a small amount of paint into your paint tray and add quite a bit of water using a spray bottle until the paint is quite thinned out.  You don't want to be applying a heavy coat, as you will want parts of the raw chipboard to shine through some areas.  

Brush the entire plaque with your first layer of green.  As it was drying, I used a paper towel to remove some of the paint so that it wasn't a true solid color and you could see some of the wood grain in the panel.  

The next layer will be blue in color.  Prepare your blue paint exactly as you did the green, watering it down to a thin consistency.

Apply blue paint randomly on top of the green base. I've used just the tip of the sponge brush to apply the paint in a streaked pattern, being sure to not cover too much of the base coat.  

The next step is to use a fine grit sandpaper to dull the colors and start the aging process.  

You can see how the sanding really toned down the colors and brings out part of the original chipboard color.  

You are now ready to add the final coat of paint to the plaque.  Prepare your white paint as you did the other acrylic paints and swipe across the plaque using random patterns.  

Once again sand with a fine grit sandpaper.  

We are now ready to begin the aging process!

I've used paper towel to swipe Walnut Distress Stain and Vintage Photo Distress Stain onto the plaque.  I found that applying it directly was just too dark for the look I was trying to create.  

The next layer I added was a brown ink around the edges of the plaque.  I used an older ink pad, as I knew the edges would probably chew it up slightly..and it did!  LOL

The next step was to add a touch of shine...but in a very subtle way...

Using my finger, I applied the Viva Inka Gold to various areas on the decorative edge of the frame.  This product gives a nice shimmer...but the gold color is not overpowering.

We're down to one last step...

Viva Ferro is a very cool medium that has a gritty texture.  I've applied the copper color first and then applied the graphite color over that to tone the coppery color down a bit.  I've once again applied it with my finger as I was not wanting a thick layer on the project.  You can see the areas in the photo above that show as grey...that is where the Ferro has been applied.  It keeps it's gritty texture and gives the piece a great aged feeling. 

You'll want to use the same technique explained here to antique your bird chipboard pieces should you choose to use them.
For the rest of the instructions on how this project was created, please see the end of this blog post.

Be sure to check out the Heartfelt Creations blog for more inspiring creative projects!
Next week brings a new collection release!
I can't wait to share it with you!

Until next time...

HCDP1-250 Birds and Blooms Paper Collection
HCPC-3649 Birds and Blooms Collage Cling Stamp Set
HCPC-3644 Birds and Blooms Cling Stamp Set
HCD1-757 Leafy Branch Die
HCPC-3608 Arianna Blooms Cling Stamp Set
HCD1-748 Arianna Blooms Die
HCD2-752 Cut Mat Create 2B Die
SMP001 Stamp Mat Pad
159223 Paper Blossoms Molding Mat
459222 Paper Blossoms Tool Kit
TSMP808 Memento Espresso Truffle Ink
TSMP706 Memento Pistachio Ink
TSMP602 Memento Zeal Teal Ink
273900 Zip Dry Glue

Other Products Used:  unfinished chipboard plaque, unfinished chipboard birds, White DecoArt Crafters Acrylic Paint, Leaf Green DecoArt Crafers Acrylic Paint, Tropical Blue DecoArt Crafters Acrylic Paint, BigShot die cutting machine, sponge paint brush, paint tray, Aged Hunter Stampendous Frantage Embossing Enamel, Viva Inka Gold, Personal Stamp Exchange Verdigris Embossing Powder, fine grit sandpaper, heat tool, Stampin Up Basic Black Ink, scor tape, cream colored card stock, Viva Ferro Copper, Viva Ferro Graphite, Versa Color Pine Cone Ink, Vintage Photo Distress Stain, Walnut Stain Distress Stain,  water mist bottle, 3 grey brads, Tim Holtz Distress markers - broken china, tumbled glass, salty ocean, forest moss, peeled paint, old paper, mustard seed, finger daubers, Ranger blending tool and pad,

Begin this project by preparing your unfinished chipboard plaque with several coats of the various colors of acrylic paints. To achieve the patina look, apply each coat separately, allow to dry and sand in between each coat.  For a step by step process tutorial on how to achieve the patina look shown here, please see my personal blog.  Apply the same process to the unfinished chipboard bird shapes as well.  Choose a piece of lighter tone background paper from the collection paper pack, measure to fit centre of plaque, and stamp the Collage Cling Stamp Set with black ink.  Immediately sprinkle with the Verdegris embossing powder, discard extra loose powder and set with heat tool.  Using your distress markers, water color the three images on the stamped image. Apply brown colored ink onto the entire stamped image page using a blending tool.  Allow some areas to be darker than others as you do not want a uniform look.  Then apply brown ink to outer edges using the stamp pad itself to give the entire panel an aged look.  Adhere stamped image to plaque.  Select a light green patterned paper from the collection and die cut two of the corner vines from the Cut Mat Create 2B die.  Ink slightly with brown ink.  Set aside.  Stamp the small flowers from the Birds and Blooms Cling Stamp Set in black ink and sprinkle with Verdigris embossing powder.  Remove access and set onto image with heat tool.  Die cut using the coordinating die.  Ink each edge using a teal colored ink. Shape flowers.  Stamp the Arianna Blooms Cling Stamp Set several times in black ink.  Immediatedly cover with Aged Hunter embossing enamel, discard extra and set with heat tool. Apply teal ink around the centre area of each flower, green on the petals, and brown on the tip of each petal.  Shape flowers, creating one large, one medium and one small sized bloom.  Use a brad for each flower centre, adding a touch of Inka Gold to each brad to give it a gold colored shimmer.  Adhere bird chipboard shapes to the bottom of the plaque as shown.  Arrange the corner vine die cuts, and flowers on the top and bottom corners as pictured.  Scatter several small flat flower die cuts from the Birds and Blooms Cling Stamp Set to the image panel.  Once happy with placement of everything, adhere to plaque.  You have now completed a unique home decor project, perfect to gift to a friend or loved one...or even keep for yourself!

This project has been shared in the following challenges...
Everybody Art Challenge..."Text as Focal Point"
Through the Craft Room Door..."Anything Goes"
Not Just Cards..."Anything Goes"
Sparkle N Sprinkle..."Anything Goes February Challenge"
Crafting from the Heart..."Anything Goes"
Craft Your Passion..."Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp Challenge..."H is for..." (home decor)

A Valentine for You

Good Morning, Afternoon or Evening...depending on where you are!

I decided to pop by with a quick share today!

I had the desire to sit down at my craft table today and create something for Valentines Day.  

I had a fantastic paper pack from Graphic 45 sitting on the shelf for some time now and finally found a few stolen moments to whip up something simple.  

Here's a look...

...and a different pic from a different angle...

I actually tried to keep this card simple, and useable for any occasion...not just Valentines day. 

It would be the perfect card for any one who loves vintage inspired creations as well!

Well, that's all folks...just a quick little post to share what I created quickly this morning!

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

This card has been shared in the following challenges...
My Craft Creations..."Anything Goes"
Through the Purple Haze..."Anything Goes"
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends..."Anything Goes"
Pile it On..."Music"