Painted Flower Playing

Hello! I was SOOOO excited to finally get my hands on the Painted Flowers set from the brand new company Altenew - they sold out very quickly when they released, and I was so excited to finally see them back in stock (although they are out of stock again already!). These showed up in my mailbox yesterday, and I was glad to sit down for a few minutes and play with them this morning. I actually didn't even plan on making anything with them yet - just stamping them out and figuring them out. They are super easy to use though, and once I played a little, I cut these beauties out, and made a card with them!

I stamped and layered them up with several shades of MFT inks, then fussy cut them out. I used a sentiment from another Altenew set I ordered called Label Love, heat embossed in white on some soft gray Simon Says Stamp cardstock. I adhered the flowers with foam adhesive, then stamped some overlapping layers of the extra leaves. 

I am also linking this up with the current Simon Says Monday Challenge - Artsy Stamp (this is DEFINITELY an artsy stamp!):

I can't wait to play with these more! I can tell they will definitely be a favorite!!!

Mustache and Ties Thank You Card

Good morning! Just popping in with a quick guy card! I thought this one came out fun - perfect for Father's Day, or just a masculine thank you card.

Also perfect for the current AEI{heart}U Challenge:

I used an image from the Unity Stamp Company May 2013 Kit of the Month, and a sentiment from Avery Elle's Handwritten Notes Stamp Set - both heat embossed in black on white cardstock.

Added some washi tape, a very thin black cardstock matte, then adhered onto my kraft cardbase. Super flat and perfect for mailing too!

Thanks for dropping by! Have a great weekend!

Miss You - Unity FWF

Good morning! This is one of those weeks that I am so glad it's Friday! Totally sleeping in tomorrow! Anyway - since it is Friday, I'm hopping along with Unity Friends with Flair this morning:

I also made this using the current Unity {be inspired} Challenge colors - in a soft, watercolor way:

I used the February 2013 SMAK Kit to stamp that heart shaped map image - LOVE that image so much! Added a watercolor wash, and then some splashes of red...I don't love those - and if I could do it over, I wouldn't have done that at all!

I didn't notice until now typing this up - but my sentiment came from the February 2013 KOTM - different kit, same release month! Anyway, I embossed it on vellum, then attached over the top with some Tim Holtz tiny staples. Matted the watercolor panel with some soft yellow PTI cardstock, then a cardbase of Avery Elle Kraft - foam adhesive between each layer.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!

You're invited to the June MCS Release!

It's almost time for another new release at My Craft Spot! This one is super fun - I can't wait to start sharing what I have been working on with the new goodies! 

There will be lots of prizes and fun, but for now - head on over to My Craft Spot and leave a comment for a chance to win a fun stamp set by adding the party button to your blog and sharing the fun!

Sweet Stamp Shop Watercolor Thank You

Good morning! Hope everybody had a wonderful weekend - ours was super fun, but super busy! I'm looking forward to slowing down a little bit today! Anyway - just wanted to drop by with a card I made a while back and never had a chance to post:

I used a Sweet Stamp Shop set called Monogram It - that I believe is retired now. But I love the pretty wreath on it, and stamped and clear embossed several times on white cardstock, then inked up with a few different colors of distress ink.

I misted with water, then stamped the thank you from the same set 3 times in the center of one of the wreaths. Tied some jute twine around, then adhered with foam adhesive to a cardbase that I added a little strip of washi tape to the side of.

Thanks for dropping by! Have a wonderful day!!!

MCS Challenge - Wedding Theme

Good morning! Today is the beginning of a new challenge at My Craft Spot - and our theme this week is Weddings! I decided to try something a little creative with my stamps - and this is the result:

So...for this card, I started off by cutting a heart out of some vellum to use as a stencil. I just folded it in half, and cut it - like we probably all used to do as kids, right? Then I taped that over some white cardstock, and used the "LOVE" word from Postage Stamps stamp set to fill it in. I inked it up with black ink, then stamped it 3 times before re-inking to give a gradient effect to the words. Once I filled it in, I removed the mask, and had a text heart! Next, I heat embossed my sentiment from Happily Ever After on vellum, and attached that over the top, adding some silver glitter washi tape to the top and bottom. Added a few Caribbean sequins, some white enamel dots, some pattern paper from MME, and some silver thread tied around and in a bow to finish it all off!

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you will join us and play along this week!

Growing in Unity May Hop

Hello! I'm super excited today to be joining in with some of the recent Growing in Unity gals and hopping along with the newest Stamp of the Week. You should have arrived here from Patti aka scrapunzel1 - if not, head back to An-Jenic to start at the beginning!

The new stamp of the week is so fresh and fun and summery! And I couldn't resist a little more watercoloring - so here is my first card with it:

I picked up some new watercolors recently at Michael's - they were the same inexpensive brand I had used before, but this set was iridescent! So pretty! So I created a simple watercolor wash for the background, then stamped my image and sentiment over the top with Versafine ink. Added some flicks of color, some Icicle Stickles to the centers, a few enamel dots, some rounded corners, and some jute twine tied on a tiny Tim Holtz paperclip to finish it off. Mounted some bright papers from a DCWV paper pad at an angle on a white cardbase to use as a backdrop.

Next, I decided to go with a much simpler and more modern feeling card:

For this one, I head embossed the image and sentiment on vellum, tore the bottom edge, then used machine stitching to attach over some pattern paper from Glitz Designs. I guess it still has a bit of a watercolor feel to it anyway, doesn't it? Oh well! I matted that in white, then mounted on a cardbase made with some of the new Simon Says Stamp gray cardstock - LOVE the color of it!

Here is the rest of the blog hop line-up in case you get lost along the way:

1. An-Jenic

2. Maria Levine

3. Anna Natalia

4. Brittany Morgan

5. Erica Bass

6. Donna Baes

7. Amy

8. Patti aka scrapunzel1

9. Heather Hoffman (you are here!)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!!!

Watercolor Wishing on a Star

Hello! I recently spent an afternoon with a good friend crafting - we had so much fun! She brought a fun Hero Arts set over and I had a chance to play with it - and since I have still been on a watercolor streak - I decided to make another one! I made a simple watercolor wash on watercolor paper, let it dry, then stamped those fun stars and sentiment and heat embossed them with gold Zing embossing powder.

This was PERFECT for the current challenge at A Blog Named Hero - Embossing:

Finished off by mounting it on some Simon Says Stamp cardstock - LOVE this vivid and bright color! - and rounded off one of the bottom corners to help balance the whole card.

Thanks for dropping by! Hope your weekend is off to a wonderful start!

Follow Your Heart...

Good morning! Friday means time for Unity Stamp Company's Friends with Flair - here is what I made this week:

Yep! More watercolor! For this one I just blended two different shades of watercolor on some watercolor paper, after slightly dampening the center where I wanted my color. I let that dry (with a little help from my trusty heat gun!) - then stamped my image and sentiment over the top with Versafine Ink. I used Unity's "Hearts Around the Globe" itty bitty stamp.

Matted it in two shades of Avery Elle Cardstock, then added a bit of Glossy Accents on the hearts to make it pop a bit extra. 

Also linking this up with Word Art Wednesday: Anything Goes, and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Vacation/Travel:

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Paper Smooches Masculine Thank You

Good morning! Dropping by really quickly with a masculine thank you card I made recently - part of the large group of 20 I'm still working on:

I also thought I would link this up with the current Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge - Anything Goes:

I tried to go super masculine with the colors on this card - the green pattern paper in the background is by Basic Grey, and I think the front one is from DCWV, but not sure since I got it out of my scrap pile! 

I used Paper Smooches Many Thanks stamp set - full of so many fabulous thank you sentiments! I stamped on some kraft cardstock, then trimmed it at an angle to fit my card. I attached that with foam adhesive for just a bit of dimension.

Finished off with some Basic Grey Candy dots - love that deep green color!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you are having a wonderful day!!!

Floral Sympathy

Good morning! Sorry it has been quiet here for a couple days! We took a little weekend family road trip to Grand Canyon, and a couple other National Parks along the way. Got home yesterday, and now have to do some catching up, cleaning up, and unpacking. Amazing what just 5 days worth of travel can generate in the way of a mess!

Anyway - thought I would pop in really quickly with a card for a couple challenges that I made recently:

I used two of my favorite Avery Elle Stamp sets - Petals and Stems and Oh Happy Day. I layered the flowers with several colors of Hero Arts Shadow inks, then added some Wink of Stella over the top of the peach colored flowers. It just looks fuzzy in the picture, but that is actually sparkle - I promise! Then I just stamped the sentiment at an angle.

I am linking this up with the current Avery Elle AEI{heart}U Challenge - Botanicals:

The Simon Says Monday Challenge is also Botanicals this week:

And...CAS-ology's challenge this week is Flower as well:

Finally, linking this up with this week's Shop Pumpkin Spice Challenge - Thinking of You.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you are having a wonderful day!!!

Watercolor Grad - Nice Hat - Unity FWF

Good morning! Just dropping by with a quick card for Unity Friends with Flair this morning! Yep - more watercolor - just a graduation card this time:

For this one I used the Unity May 2013 Kit of the Month, stamped the hat 3 times with Versafine ink, then added watercolors over the top. Added 3 coordinating layers of tilted Avery Elle Cardstock, then mounted it on a white cardbase. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great weekend!!!

Mint and Gold Washi Hello

Good morning! Just wanted to share my second entry for the Gallery Idol Open Auditions! 

This is a fat and bumpy card - lots of foam between layers! I put a strip of mint and gold glitter washi tape on some white cardstock, then die cut the hello word from Paper Smooches Quote Tag Dies. 

I adhered it with foam adhesive to a piece of white cardstock cut with Lil' Inker's On the Diagonal Die. I used Lil' Inker's Stitched Rectangle set to add the stitching to my card base, then added some strips of the same washi tape to it, before adhering the diagonal die to my card base with foam adhesive.

Finished off with some Basic Grey Candy Dots that matched my mint washi perfectly!

I also thought with all the die cut faux stitching, I would link this up with Virginia's View Challenge #3 - Stitching:

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!!!

Sympathy Card - Strength and Hope

Good morning! I'm sharing a card over at My Craft Spot this morning using a bit of distress ink - another card perfect for this weeks challenge!

I had a need this week of a few sympathy cards - and the sentiments on this stamp set - With Deepest Sympathy - has so many beautiful and perfect sentiments on it:

I also used a bit of Natural Jute String on my card - one of my all time favorite embellishments!

My image is from Unity Stamp Co (play in the sun {authentique paper itty bitty}) stamped simple in black, then my sentiment directly underneath. I inked the edges of the white cardstock with Antique Linen distress ink - which is perfect for softening the edges of a stark white panel. Tied a tiny PTI button on with my bow, matted in black cardstock, and attached with foam adhesive to my pattern paper - which was from a Basic Grey 6x6 Persimmon paper pad.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!!!