Happy Gal-entines Day from Blog Hops with Heart

Welcome to the first Blog Hops with Heart of 2019. You should have come from Amie's blog, but the hop is a circle so just keep clicking through until you make it back to your first blog. I'm going to admit up front that I had no idea what "Gal-entines Day" was until we chose it for our theme. I don't watch "Parks & Rec" but apparently they either coined the term or used it in an episode. If anyone else doesn't know, it's so women can send cards to their gal-friends. I'm sending this one to a dear friend who made a four-hour trek here last weekend for my hubby's promotion ceremony where I immediately put her to work. She then came to my house and washed dishes while I sat at my kitchen table. I thought this darling polar bear and sentiment from the Hostess only set was perfect.

I went a little wild but I think it worked. For the bottom border, I cut it first with the fringe border then cut it again with the stitched scallop border. I cut my background tag from white cardstock, stamped it in Candy Apple then sponged Ballerina ink over the entire thing with a stronger concentration around the edges.

Here's the list of supplies with links for your shopping convenience:

• Custom Tags stamp set
• Fancy Tag Thin Cuts
• Heart Happy paper
• Candy Apple ink
• Ballerina ink
• Black ink
• Stitched Heart Thin Cuts
• Decorative Border Thin Cuts
• Black & White Dots
• Mini Stapler
• 3D Foam Tape
• Sponge Daubers

The polar bear stamp set doesn't show up in the regular shopping list because it's a hostess rewards only set. The only non-CTMH thing was the sewing which I did on my trusty machine.

Now you're off to visit Katy's blog. We wish you all a happy Gal-entines and a happy Valentine's Day!

Until next time,
Becca

Dandelion Wishes Card #2

Our whirlwind promotion ceremony and family Christmas has come and gone. Our kids made it safely back to their respective homes, and the house feels empty. The tree will come down, the Christmas decorations be put away, and a few Valentine decorations will go up before Thursday. And I need to send out birthday cards because, even though we might still be half-stuck in December, it's February for the rest of the world. Good thing I made a number of cards using the Dandelion Wishes set.

I love the simplicity of this stamp set. On this card, I combined the images with paper from the Feels Like Home collection and three different cuts from the Fancy Tags Thin Cuts. I accented with dots of Liquid Glass which dry clear and add interest without "visual weight."

Here's the supply list with shopping links for your convenience:

• Dandelion Wishes
• Feels Like Home paper
• Fern Cardstock
• Fern ink
• Sugarplum ink
• Versamark ink
• White Embossing Powder
• Fancy Tag Thin Cuts
• Liquid Glass
• White and Gold Ribbon

Today is a crafting and reading day. It's cold and raining, my tea kettle is full, and I cleaned my craft area in preparation for family arriving. Sounds like a good enough reason to stay inside to me!

Until next time,
Becca

Dandelion Wishes Card #1

I don't know what it is about dandelions that makes me love them so much, but whatever it is, the new Dandelion Wishes set from CTMH is one of my favorites of this release. I used it on several Clean and Simple (CAS) cards as part of the class I taught last month. Here's my absolute favorite...

I embossed the dandelion in white on Fern cardstock cut with the Fancy Tags Thin Cuts. The sentiment is stamped in New England Ivy. I also sponged some New England Ivy in the center of the dandelion to give it a little more dimension. You can't see it in the picture, but there are a few streaks of Clear Shimmer Brush in the center. 

Here's the supply list with shopping links:

• Dandelion Wishes
• Fern Cardstock
• Fancy Tag Thin Cuts
• White Embossing Powder
• Versamark Ink
• New England Ivy ink
• Sponge Daubers
• Clear Shimmer Brush
• 3D Foam Tape
• White and Gold Ribbon

The design principle here is centering your image. I'll be featuring more cards with this set in the coming days, including the design principles used.

Until next time,
Becca

February SOM - Heartfelt Sentiments Blog Hop

Have I told you how excited I am to be part of the amazing Stamp of the Month Blog Hop? I've followed this hop for years, garnering inspiration from all the wonderful participants. How lovely to be included in their midst now. You should have come from Vickie O'Dell's blog, but the blog is a circle so you can start here (or anywhere) and keep going until you get back to your first stop.

I took just the banner and combined it with the sign from the Heart & Home set to make this card...

The Sugerplum color is very difficult to capture in a photograph. At least it is for me. And it was impossible to match the color with markers so I ended up doing my old standby technique to color the sign...I squeezed the closed stamp pad together several times to press ink into the lid, opened it up, and used a waterbrush to pick up color to paint my image.

The banner is stamped in New England Ivy with Charcoal for the sentiment. The sign was stamped in Espresso. To create my skinny border between the Feels Like Home paper and the cardbase, I colored a thin (like really, really thin) strip of the notebook paper (top left) from the pack with a grey marker and carefully (like really, really carefully) glued it to the bottom edge of the background paper. The chisel tip of our glue pen came in very handy for this. I trimmed out the banner, popped it up on foam tape, then added a triangle of White Dots to finish the card.







Here's a list of supplies (with links for your shopping convenience):

• Heart & Home
• February SOM
• Feels Like Home paper
• New England Ivy ink
• Sugarplum ink
• Espresso ink
• Charcoal ink
• Micro-tip Scissors
• Foam Tape
• Glue Pen
• Black & White Dots
• Waterbrush-Small Round
• Grey Marker

Please order with your consultant if you have one. If not, I'd be honored to be yours. Be sure to join my February Online party when you get to the check out page. Everything will ship directly to you in a few days but you'll also have a chance to win some goodies from me. Be sure to check the Going Soon section as some items have been marked down significantly there.

Now you're off to Kathy Burrow's blog. As always, Melinda Everitt has a complete list of all the participants of this months' hop.

Until next time,
Becca

One Scoop at a Time WYW

I always love playing around with the Workshop Your Way (WYW) kits to see how I can stretch them. Here are three cards using the One Scoop at a Time WYW.

This card features the Something Fierce paper suite, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, and Fancy Tag Thin Cuts. I used paper that's not included in the workshop because I wanted to show that, even after the paper is gone from the kit, there are still a bunch of ways to use the stamp set. I rolled the bottom edges of the ice cream scoops in coordinating colors. Ballerina/Raspberry, Mint/Lagoon, and Lemon/Raspberry. The sprinkles are Raspberry and Lagoon.

I'll admit two things on this card. One, I don't actually own the Stitched Rectangle Frame Thin Cuts from CTMH. Yet. They are on the way. I borrowed a set at a get-together when I made the top card. So this card uses stitched cuts from My Favorite Things for the outside border. Two, I went a little overboard on the Clear Shimmer. But I like it. The sentiment was colored using the Mint Shimmer Brush.

This card features the I Heart Us paper. I used the bottom border of the cut-apart sheet of paper. I absolutely love that the cut apart sheet feature images on one side and a pattern on the other. I like to get use out of every bit of my paper, and since I mostly make cards, the change from double sets of PML cards to these cut-apart images on one side and pattern on the other makes the pack far more useful for me. Oh...and this used a lighter hand on the Clear Shimmer Brush.

I only used the ice-cream cones on these cards. I'll use the pineapple images later.

Here's the supply list with links for your shopping convenience:

• One Scoop at a Time WYW
• Something Fierce Paper
• I Heart Us Paper
• Fancy Tag Thin Cuts
• Stitched Rectangular Thin Cuts
• Ballerina ink
• Raspberry ink
• Lemon ink
• Mint ink
• Lagoon ink
• Charcoal ink
• Almond ink
• Toffee ink
• Clear Shimmer Brush
• Mint Shimmer Brush
• White and Gold Ribbon
• Micro-tip Scissors
• 3D Foam Tape

While you're shopping, be sure to check out the "Going Soon" section. Lots of lovelies went on sale today. Hurry before they are gone!

Until next time (which will be later this evening for the February SOM Blog Hop),
Becca

Understanding Design Principles on CAS Cards

I was recently asked to teach a class on Clean & Simple (CAS) cards. I concentrated on design principles. For the following two cards, I drew color inspiration from the I Heart Us paper, combining it with Colorful Texture and stamps included in the Flower Market Cricut Bundle.

These cards show how to use the concept of thirds. Notice the placement of the row of dots on the first card. The top of it runs along an imaginary line drawn across the bottom third. For the second card, the sentiment is centered and along an imaginary line drawn across the top third. Sequins was added in triangles to finish.

Here's the supply list (with links for your shopping convenience):

• Flower Market Cricut Bundle
• Colorful Texture
• Lagoon ink
• Mint ink
• Ballerina ink
• Pixie ink
• Canary ink
• Charcoal ink
• Gold Sequins

Understanding basic design principles rocked my crafting world. Either I had the most boring art teachers in school or I was so convinced I wasn't artistic (because I couldn't draw a decent stick figure...still can't) that I shut off my brain during class. When I learned them as they applied to a craft I already loved, they suddenly made sense.

I hope you see the idea of thirds here. If not, please leave a comment and I'll answer as soon as possible. For now, I'm off to my writing cave.

Until next time,
Becca  

You're My (Cat) Person

Do you have "cat person" friends? What about "dog person" friends? The new Paper Pal Pets stamp set and coordinating Thin Cuts is the perfect way to give them some furry love without hair getting all over the carpet.

Those blue lines around the images show the shape of the coordinating thin cuts, which I highly recommend purchasing with this set. You will never, ever be able to cut out that ball of yarn or tail on the gerbil cleanly without them.

I came up with a simple Valentines Day card by using it and two other stamp sets for my "cat person" friend. I'm entering it in the Color My Heart Black, White, and Splash of Color challenge.

The background heart is from Custom Tags. I shaped the circle into a heart and stamped it in Candy Apple. The sentiment is from the A Piece of My Heart stamp set which is only available until the end of February.

Here are links to the products used:

• Paper Pal Pets + Thin Cuts
• Custom Tags
• A Piece of My Heart
• Candy Apple Ink
• Black Ink
• Candy Apple Cardstock (dark side)
• Rectangular Stitched Thin Cuts
• Red Shimmer Brush (which I faked with a red marker and Clear Shimmer Brush, but it would have looked better with the real thing. Just sayin'.)
• ShinHan Carmine Marker

The Red and White Baker's Twine was purchased so long ago, I'm not sure where it comes from. Probably Hobby Lobby or Michaels. I used Copic markers to add some shading to my cat.

I love the simplicity of this card and how the swirly heart almost looks like it's a piece of yarn from the ball at the cat's feet. Perfect for that "cat person" in your life.

Until next time,
Becca