Hey everyone! It’s my first post of 2017 over at the Heart Desires Blog, and I am featuring a combo of lovely products available in the store. You know you need some holiday thank yous! Stop on by for some inspiration! See you there!
Well, happy new year and happy February everyone! I hope the first month of 2016 has been inspired and fulfilling so far! For me, it has been a merry-go-round of catch up after a demanding December. I had planned to use my holiday break from teaching to finish some home-related projects and creative pursuits, but ended up derailed. The last few weeks, though, I have enjoyed a burst of creative energy, using my spare moments to put together copious thank you’s, birthday cards, a gift set, and some holiday cards for next Christmas!
A few of those cards were inspired by Fusion’s 2nd anniversary photo and sketch, but I missed the deadline! Boo! Those will be featured soon in my portfolio pages. So today I have a few cards developed for the current Fusion theme and inspired by a selection of digital papers from The Lilypad.
My first card used the sketch and neutrals, emphasizing the black and white in the wreath, and adding some glitzy crimson, that is definitely not neutral!
The black and white papers are from The Lilypad’s new collection, “Cheeky,” by Valerie Wibbens. I cannot get enough of the brushstroke paper which has been layered beneath Jen Hadfield’s gold bark cardstock. Oh my gosh, this paper! I love all the papers she puts out– her gold cardstocks are the best! This paper just took my breath away. I cut the piece from Lawn Fawn’s journaling card and then used the My Favorite Things circle die to cut out the side.
I love texture, and the pictured wreath is quite textured, so I worked in some PTI embossed paper for the banner die, swiss dot paper for the Savvy Stamps woodland branch, and cherry veneer paper for the Savvy Stamps pinecone. The “thanks” sentiment is from the popular PTI wet paint series cut from Jen Hadfield’s texturized gold paper, which is somewhat noticeable in the photo. Penny black provides the poinsettia die.
You can get a sense of the sparkle in the gold bark paper in the photo above. It is so lovely.
The inside is finished off with some kraft and gold striped washi. I plan to write out a greeting in gold pen.
Next up: This card is a bit out of focus, but I didn’t notice until upload! Whoops!
Lots of woodgrain to play off the background in the inspiration photo. Again, the grey wood paper is from The Lilypad collection. I have also used Essentials by Ellen 110# woodgrain paper for the base.
All dies are from Savvy Stamps: DIY Wreath, Woodland Branch and Pinecone. The sentiment is from The Ton stamps.
Keeping with the theme, I created some other glitzy, rich, holiday thank you cards, and a valentine, all of which I will post separately in my portfolio! But here are some images.
Head to my portfolio pages, link found in the menu or on the home page, to see the rest of the collection. You can also see additional photos and new work on my Instagram and Flickr accounts, linked at the bottom of this page.
On my way out, I want to dedicate these cards to all the awesome crafters who participated in Taheerah’s Advent Calendar hop. The turn out was phenomenal, and so many amazing people, many of whom are new to me, stopped by this site, left lovely comments, and even decided to follow. I appreciate everyone and wish I could have contacted each of you personally– the response was truly overwhelming! So thank you!
Drop by the Fusion page to follow the inspiration. It’s one of my favorite challenges out there!
And tune into to see if the groundhog sees his shadow… will there be 6 more weeks of winter? I love sharing my birthday with the furry critter, and either way, I’m harboring a sense of spring inside. Stop by again soon for some cards that reflect the coming season!
XO
Anyone catch the Grammy’s last night? I haven’t watched the show since the 90’s and am not convinced of its relevancy anymore. From a quick online review of the evening, it seems to have been fraught some odd antics and questionable costumes; anything to get the media machine moving, I suppose. At any rate, Pharrell received an award well-deserved for his song Happy and tonight I’ve got a trio of happy cards for you!
They found their inspiration in a few different places, including this premature spring-like weather. The hot-pink Camellia flowers are popping from their dark green leaves; crocuses sprouted in January; and despite the pineapple express bringing a week of rain to the PNW, it’s been balmy and mostly sunny these last three weeks. I’ve spotted numerous newly-built nests high in the leafless trees, the cats are acting a bit more frenzied, and crowds have been flocking to the beach, so it’s safe to say Seattle is experiencing some spring fever. I’m more than ready! I spent most of the weekend tearing the house apart, cleaning, organizing and recycling. Clearing physical space does wonders for the clarity of one’s mental space; I’m already feeling more motivated and productive!
The other inspiration for my cards came from Taheerah’s challenge photo from a few week’s ago. I couldn’t find the time to complete them and play along, but here is the inspiration image.
Lastly, my card ideas had me thinking about the 1960’s fashion designer, Mary Quant. My parents traveled to London in 1988 and brought back some Mary Quant make-up–a fluorescent pink and white eyeshadow duo, cotton-candy lipstick, and matching nail polish, all packaged in the signature black and white containers, as well as her book Color by Quant. The Top Dog Dies flowers reminded me of her logo and the enamel flowered jewelry of the 60’s.
So my brain, teeming with all this bold color and black and white, came up with these!
I should mention that the card in the foreground was inspired by the sketch over at Fusion— a pretty literal interpretation! I wanted to use my new My Favorite Things circle die cut; with the Top Dog Dies flowers and the PTI Happy banner, it was a perfect match! Talk about a fusion of ideas in this trio!
I love all the texture from the different papers to the stitching and floral details. It certainly is a happy card!
Next up is the other birthday card, with a patterned paper inside a la Kelly at Notable Nest!
Again, I am featuring the MFT stitched circle dies as the focal point. Check out the Pebbles enamel dots! They are huge and delicious!
Finally, the card features a sentiment from PTI and an Avery Elle rectangle die.
Last up, the loudest card of them all!
There are quite a few flower dies on the market, but I really adore these Pretty Petals. They had been on my wish list for awhile. I love the dimension you can achieve with their layering.
I had so much fun cutting out the 6 different sizes from various shades of cardstock and just playing around with layering. You may be seeing quite a few of these flowers in upcoming cards!
The PTI Wet Paint sentiment was cut from white foam for some dimension and texture.
As part of this gift set (all three cards are going to one family, along with the little gift bag), I die cut Lawn Fawn’s goodie bag while crafting with my friends last weekend. I think I really may need to get this die. It is a perfect size, and I love the detailing.
Well, that’s it for me this evening. I hope I brightened up your day, or night! Head over to Fusion and Cure for the Monday Blues, two of my favorite places for inspiration!
Have a colorful week!
I think it’s fun to create thank you cards that reflect the gift you were given, so I have been doing just that for a few of my recipients this week. I have so many to fill out and get into the mail, as well as some lingering holiday gifts to send (yes, that’s right–my 12 days of Christmas may just turn into 12 weeks at this point), and of course so many card photos still from December to post here! Thus I’m on my third entry of the day, so I can make another challenge deadline!
One of my crafty goals is to find some new challenges to play this year, and so far I’ve come across two thanks to some fellow crafters. So for this recent card, I joined Freshly Made Sketches. I love the sketch and it reminds me of a card I saw earlier in the week over at Studio Calico for their upcoming release. I think the theme of my card fits perfectly with the sketch, it’s like a window into a jar of candy!
It’s a fun little shaker with a simple window covered with some acetate. The candy paper is an older release from Webster’s Pages. The Avery Elle “Thank You” die is proving quite the worthy purchase! The stitched rectangle is also Avery Elle, another indispensable die!
The inside is lined with some Valentine’s washi from My Mind’s Eye.
Thank you for stopping by! Hope you enjoy a sweet start to your week!
 
 
Pinned & Penned 