Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a very Happy and Joyful Easter!

 

 

I have been pouring my creativity into paper and ink for several years now, but recently I have been learning a new craft! For a couple months now I have been working part time for a local florist and learning flower design. I'm having so much fun expressing my creativity in a different way. Now if only I could learn all the flower names!!



A Spring Hello!

I'm so excited for warmer weather, colorful flowers and Spring break vacation!! I pulled out an older irresistible chipboard flower and inked it up to coordinate with some fun new Chantilly papers and fabric! My goal was to use the Freshly Made Sketch to create a fun and bright card! Now that's a "happy" hello!

 

Chantilly & Dotty papers, pleated fabric and a chevron stamped tag....so many of my favorite things!!

Egg-Cited for Easter?

Heart 2 Heart challenge blog is "Egg-Cited" for Easter this week! I decided to create some more funny bunny cards in different colors than my original one that I posted here. I hope they bring a laugh to the recipients this Easter!

For this first one I placed some springs behind the peeps bunnies to really make them hop!

These bunnies are just pop-dotted on some blue gingham ruffles and green twine!

Finally, some assorted colors sitting on a strip of topiary pom-pom ribbon.

Be sure to stop by Heart 2 Heart for more Easter inspiration!

Buzz and Bumble Birthday Gift

What's a card exchange without a project to go along with it? Keeping with the Birthday theme of my card exchange I decided to create this Kraft container using the Buzz and Bumble papers. I also used the fun Honeycombs stamp set and sentiment on a label cut out from the Art Philosophy cartridge. The little Burt's Bees goodies inside match perfectly with the theme decorating the container! What a great gift this would be for a special loved one!

The gorgeous flower on the top of the container was 100% inspired by the talented Lisa Stenz! Her idea for creating and assembling the flower was simple, yet made such an impact on the finished result. See her directions here.

Birthday Themed Card Exchange

What a busy month this has been! Earlier this month I posted about my upcoming card exchange with a Birthday theme seeing how my family has celebrated many Birthday's this March! Participants could create anything with a Birthday theme...young or old, feminine or masculine, serious or hilarious! There was a wide variety as usual, but all done beautifully with the help of gorgeous Close To My Heart products!

First off is my card. I think it turned it out to be one of my favorites in a long while.

One of the girls remarked that the black tulle was her favorite part of the whole card!

Next is Barbie~ She is new to our exchange and would you believe new to paper crafting?!! What a gorgeous card and that butterfly is amazing!

Janet's card is full of amazing cut outs from the Cricut cartridges. Her card could be used for both feminine or masculine I think!

Tommie shows off her dry embossing skills and great distressing techniques.

I love the black and yellow color theme that Pat chose for her card. She surprised us with an unexpected Cricut shape for the flower vase! Can you guess what it is?

Julie's cards travel many miles to reach me every year. How fitting that her vellum envelopes should be post marked with a Birthday sentiment!

Her card also featured a fun split opening behind the cute party hat!

Nanette's card is simply sweet with just a bit of pearls and lace to give it a soft, vintage feel!

 

 

 and finally... A bright and fun card from Stacie. The pops of color and dry embossing really make you want to celebrate!

A big thank you to all the ladies that participated in the exchange. I truly enjoy sharing all of your creations and seeing the wonderful artwork you design.

Inspired By Bunnies and Chocolate

It's been awhile since I've played along with a challenge at Inspired By! The image of an Easter wreath with a big bunny in the center was just too cute! Laurel's take on the challenge included some chocolate in the photograph which led me to creating some treat tubes!

You will remember these treat tubes, they were a big hit for Valentine's Day. I saved a few of them to use for other occasions and Easter treats are perfect!

{Inspiration Photo}

Oh Snap!

Tomorrow I am hosting a Birthday themed card exchange. I have already received several cards and can't wait to share them here with all of you. These ladies are so talented and their artwork inspires me every time!

In the meantime I have some cute cards to share with you today using the Sightseer stamp set. I like the simple, trendy images. I especially like the people, camera and the arrow graphic which I turned into chevron stripes on a card posted previously.

This first card uses some For Always paper and just a strip of some older Dotty papers. I wanted the look of a polaroid picture and with the addition of Washi tape the card looks like a page in a Smash Book!

Even though this card is a Birthday theme, it was not worthy enough for the upcoming exchange. However, I was able to play with some new Heidi Swapp Color Shine shimmer spray and Color Shine Heart. In person this card sparkles and shines!

Be sure to come back soon to see the fabulous creations from my Birthday card exchange!

Sweet Honey Challenge

My card today features the new Honeycomb stamp set and the fabulous For Always fabric! It uses the color challenge at Dynamic Duos and the sketch challenge on The Paper Players. I kept it very clean and simple and the colors are very bold, but so lovely! The "dessert" option on Dynamic Duos was to use ribbon. I did not really choose a ribbon, instead I pulled in the black script fabric and tied it all together with some Crème Brulee twine!

I think it turned out pretty "sweet"!

 

 

{My yellow color of choice was Close To My Heart Crème Brulee.}

Fun Friend Card

I saw this idea of creating a rainbow effect using a zig zag or chevron pattern. I chose the image from the new Sightseer stamp set. I was also able to use the sketch on Freshly Made Sketches, it all came together perfectly!

The Swing Card

Having some fun with the Swing cards on the Artiste Cricut cartridge! Just press the 'S' key!!

 

This was a class that I taught earlier this week. Did you know there are 9 different swing cards that can be cut on the Artiste Cricut cartridge? In addition there are multiple shapes in the center of the card that can be cut on either the Artiste or Art Philosophy cartridges. With all the coordinating stamps for each shape you can make dozens of unique, interactive cards!

 

Go ahead and hit the 'S' key! Your going to love playing with these cards!

Pretty Party Card

I mixed in some Kraft cardstock with the beautiful Chantilly papers for this week's Mojo Monday sketch! I really like the sketch this week and thought it would be perfect for the Perfect Fit Frames and a Birthday sentiment. I was going to leave the kraft plain in the background, but then played with some party pennants in white daisy ink. It is just a fun card, sure to bring a smile to a Birthday girl!

Easter Humor

Who knew Peeps could be so funny! Creating this card for three different challenges today and giggling at the silly humor!

I am ready for Spring, just like the girls at Heart 2 Heart Challenges this week!  Peeps have become a trademark of Easter and makes me think of warmer weather, sweets and taking a vacation on Spring Break!

I stayed with the Dynamic Duo colors of dark green {topiary} and yellow {crème brulee}. I don't think the kids have a favorite color Peep, they just prefer to leave the package open so they harden a bit!

 Finally, it's all about "stitches" on The Paper Players. No thread required for my card, I went for "funny" so hopefully you get a chuckle!!

Shore Thing Sunshine

Some of you know how I feel about the trend of bicycle stamps or images. I think they are super cute and this one is certainly no different! It's from the new Bright Sunshiny Day stamp set. It's a very cool beach cruiser sitting in the sand! I wanted to create a vintage feel with this card and the ruffles add just a bit of shabby chic!

I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches this week, only I turned it.

 

All products are Close To My Heart ; Papers: For Always, Surf's Up; Stamps: Bright Sunshiny Day, Artiste Collection; Black Shimmer Trim

Clean and Simple Birthday

I have dedicated March as my "Birthday" month. My husband and daughter are both celebrating Birthdays this month. I will be hosting a Birthday themed card exchange at the end of the month and will have a Birthday project to make during the event. 

I will kick it off with some very clean and simple {CAS} cards, one of which will be going to my Dad who happens to share his Birthday on the same day as my husband!!

I am also submitting these to the Heart2Heart challenge this week, who reminds us to keep our projects Clean & Simple! Just a few cuts of Cuisin' paper, cardstock, some stamping and a simple embellishment; these cards were both completed in less than 10 minutes!