Flora or Fauna

This week at Heart 2 Heart challenges we have been asked to come up with a project incorporating Flora or Fauna! 

I decided to do both- and created this fun sea themed card. 

I created the background by colouring some soapy water with Sapphire Re-inker and literally blowing bubbles into the cardstock over a bowl with a straw to create the bubble splash look. I then added the bottle and sentiment from the April Stamp of the Month- Message In A Bottle. The starfish and shells are from the Deck The Palms Tropical Stamp Set and Thin Cuts, and I turned the waves on their side to create seaweed within the bottle.

I finished off with the adorable little seahorse from the Baby Doodles stamp set, and accented it with Diamond Stickles. I added a few stamped bubbles around the seahorse from the Summer Vibes Cardmaking stamp set and I was done!

On the Green

This week, Heart 2 Heart has partnered up with Double Trouble to create a Green inspired challenge!

For some reason, my brain did not immediately think of St Patrick's Day but a golfing green, and I knew I had this green paper in my stash, so this card came together very quickly using the My Hole In One Stamp Set and Thin Cuts. The only embellishment I added was some wood look sequins.

This card was made specifically for a golf-loving boss of mine, and so I hope he likes it! Thanks for stopping by today. 

SWAK

 

It's the month of love!

I wanted to create a fun little tag card for Valentine's Day coming up, and so inspired by Craft Roulette I came up with this card using some leftover Valentine paper, my tag die cuts and some red enamel hearts. 

I stamped some subtle background circles on the red cardstock, and used the xoxo paper to fit with the Heart 2 Heart theme this week.

I am slowly getting my mojo back, and challenge inspiration certainly helps.

Glitz and Glitter

This week at H2H we are all about glitz and glitter!

I had been meaning to scrapbook my friend's 40th birthday, where I wore a glittery pink dress, and the new Mulberry Glitter Paper matched perfectly! Here's the full layout paired with some of the old You Are Enough papers, You Are Enough PML Cards and the Layered Butterflies Thin Cuts.

I cut some pennants using the Mulberry Glitter Paper as well as the You Are Enough Cardstock, and then added a PML card for the title. The butterflies are cut from Mulberry Glitter Paper and Ballerina Cardstock. 

I also stamped this balloon garland from the Party Girl stamp set in Sangria Ink and paper pieced the circles to match the layout.

I also added some Butterfly Sequins, and added some little splotches in Sangria Ink using the Love Story Scrapbooking stamp set for some extra visual interest.

I hope you love this layout as much as I do- and now it';s your turn! Join us over at h2H challenges to share your Glitz and Glitter creations!

Christmas in July with Double Trouble

This week I have a combined challenge for you- featuring Heart 2 Heart and our fun sister blog, Double Trouble!

Being in New Zealand, we do have our midwinter Christmas here and so I have been happy to sit in my craft room and create in this cooler weather.

For this card, I pulled out my old Merry, Merry stamp set that has just been re-released by CTMH, as I love the wreath! I stamped the wreath in Avocado ink and the pine cones in Toffee, and then added a bright Candy Apple sentiment.

I pulled out an old Christmas paper that had some holly springs in it, and then matted the wreath and paper on Kraft Paper.

My finishing touch was a bow made from burlap ribbon for the Double Trouble optional part of the challenge. What do you think?

It's A Star Wars Banner Day!

 This week at H2H we wanted to see your fun banner ideas!

I recently did this Star Wars layout and I haven't had a chance to share it yet, but luckily it features some banners that I cut from PML cards. Here is the full layout. As you can see, I used a mix of the Stars and Sparklers Collection and the Happiest Place Coordinating Cardstock.

On the left hand side, I added lots of different stamped stars from the Stars and Sparklers Cardmaking Stamp Set in Sapphire, Bluebird and Carolina ink. The title is also from this stamp set. Some of the stars were directly stamped onto my layout base, and I also used the thin cuts from the stamp set for the larger stars. The banner is a cut up piece from the Stars and Sparklers Picture My Life Cards.

On the right I added more stamped stars, another PML banner, a PML sentiment and then stamped some journal lines and matted them using a piece of the Stars and Sparklers Paper Packet. This starry paper paired so well the the Happiest Place Coordinating Cardstock with the silver foiled stars. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

The Midas Touch

I love using our embossing powders, and Gold is definitely my favourite!

I may have gone a bit overboard on the gold with this card...but then again, I don't think you can ever have too much gold!

I embossed a piece of White Daisy Cardstock with our Spring Blossoms Embossing Folder, and then brushed the whole thing with Versamark ink. I then put Gold Embossing Powder over the whole thing and heat set it to create a beautifully textured gold background. 

I wanted to keep the sentiment simple, so I stamped the sentiment from the March Stamp of the Month, Winged Masterpiece, using Black ink, and then matted it on some Black cardstock and lay the sentiment strip across the gold background. As a final touch, I added a Gold Glitter Gem on either side of the sentiment. 

Add a Border

It's time for another challenge at H2H!

I decided to use the fun new Sweet Safari papers combined with the February SOTM, Doodled Borders.

I added a large title cut from my Cricut and some Red stickles on the birthday banner- this card came together so quickly and easily!

I stamped two of the borders in Bluebird and Avocado ink, and then added a zip strip and some paper from Sweet Safari- this paper pack is for more than just babies and zoo adventrues.

If you have a fun border project, feel free to link up with us at H2H!

Slimline Celebration Card

Welcome to the first H2H challenge of 2021!

This week we are focusing on slimline cards. 

I wanted to start off pretty simple and show you all a basic card using the Party Time Paper Packet and a Slimline Card Base, as a lot of you won't have the thin cuts that go with this size of card yet. 

I cut the balloons using the You Are Here Cricut collection in Lemonade, Green Apple and Sapphire cardstock.

I did use the new Pennant Thin Cuts for the sentiment banner, which are a great idea instead of trying to dovetail if you are like me and can never get your sides even!

Using a bold paper, large sentiment and one main embellishment is all I need to create fun, exciting slimline cards. If you'd like to share your slimline cards, link up with us at H2H!

Rise and Shine

This week, H2H is featuring the CTMH Colour of the Year, Blue Belle.

I made a layout for some photos of coffee in the morning after our recent holiday- I haven't added the photos and journalling yet but I still thought I would share it with you. I used Blue Belle cardstock paired with some of the Lovely Paper Packet. 

I stamped the coffee cup with Toffee ink on the smooth side from the SOTM to get a solid colour, and stamped it onto Blue Belle cardstock. I added a small heart and a Blue Belle Pearl and then added it to the side of the journalling box. 

I added some pennants with the Lovely heart paper, and the sentiment was stamped around the sunburst style shape I cut from Blue Belle cardstock.

This is such a fun way to do a morning/coffee themed layout with the starburst in non-traditional colours. Blue Belle is such a lovely soft colour, perfect for adding a cool shade to your cards and layouts. 

Creating with Build-A-Picnic

Those who know me know that I love wine- it's probably my third hobby after theatre shows and crafting!

When I saw the Build-A-Picnic stamp set, I had to have it just for the adorable wine bottle and wine glass stamp, but the whole set is adorable.

I am sharing two cards using this stamp set today.

The first card was at the request of my friend, who wanted a male retirement card with psychedelic colours and wine theme. Sounds rather random but I was able to make it work!

I sponged the background of the card and matted it with some Willow paper, and then added a Cricut stripe overlay over the sponging. I then added a small sentiment and the wine themed stamps.



I am entering this card in the Color Dare challenge and the H2H anything goes challenge.

My second card was more minimalistic, focusing on the sweet picnic basket and food. I added a simple embossed cloud panel and a strip of striped paper to break up the white but still keep this CAS. I am entering this second card in the CASology Cloud challenge.



I love the versatility of this stamp set and I can't wait to use it for my summer picnic pages!

You mean the World to me

My two boys have been amazing at adjusting to a lot of changes in the last few months, and I wanted to let them know how special and important they are to me. I made them each a card and will write in it and leave it on their pillow, and hopefully this will show them how much I care about and appreciate them.

My boys love anything space related, and so it was a perfect opportunity to use some scraps from my Stargazer Paper Packet. I loosely based my card on the WYW design, but made sime changes to the paper and thin cut as my boys have both seen and loved the rocket ship printed paper.

I had a lot of fun stamping the border of the card, and then it was easy to put together the rest. I coloured in the astronaut with the watercolour pencils and added a Zip strip and some Stargazer Dots to finish the card.

I am linking this up to Heart 2 Heart's Out Of This World Challenge.

Back with a Birthday Bash card

Wow- it's been a long time since I've been crating due to a number of reasons- the most likely being that I moved house at Christmas and it took me a while to set up my craft space!

I have finally got back into things and one of my first creations was this masculine birthday card, created for the Birthday Bash challenge at H2H.

I used the April Stamp of the Month for the Celebrate title, and the best day ever was already preprinted on a pocket page card, which I then matted on Peacock cardstock.

I used the stars from the Stargazer cardmaking set to add some extra interest to the card.

It feels good to be getting back into scrapbooking and cardmaking, and I am looking forward to sharing more of my creations with you!

It's Halloween Season!

No matter where you live, Halloween is a favourite for children- we celebrate in Spring so there are no pumpkins or falling leaves, but we always have spooky costumes and some fun Halloween events to attend.

This year, my two boys want to be vampires and they are heading to a Halloween event at my local club. The photos won't be available for a few days but I am prepared with a layout already.



I used the retired Halloween paper packet Jeepers Creepers, which has some fabulous bold colours ideal for scrapbooking my two boys.



I used a fun technique to create the monsters called the Baby Wipe technique, which resulted in adorable multicoloured monsters.



I will add some journalling to this 3x4 pocket card once the photos have been taken.



This layout came together so easily using the paper packet, zipstrip, coordinating pocket cards and a few stamped embellishments.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Blossoming Colour

The colour challenge over at Heart 2 Heart is to use Emerald, Blossom and Lemon on a project.

These are the colours featured in the new Prickly Pear Paper Packet, but I immediately found a piece of Emerald paper from the Fundamentals range and decided to use that as the base of my card.

I fussy cut two cacti from the Prickly Pear Paper Packet, as these two particular ones featured a Blossom and Lemon pot.




I added some Lemon and Blossom stars from the Good Life Complements and finished off by stamping the hello speech bubble in Blossom ink and fussy cutting it to attach to the card,

Everyday Life

I love documenting the big events in my life, but it's nice to remember some of the everyday moments too. 

 One of the things I always enjoy is taking my two boys out for coffee dates when I have some one-on-one time with them. 

I created this layout to document the coffee (and fluffy) dates using the Enchantment Fundamentals.


 
This adorable bear and his coffee cup were the perfect addition to my layout- as well as the sentiment. I added a few red enamel hearts


 
The This & That stamp set is great for adding a title to everyday moments, so I added one of the stamp sentiments to the top of the journal box as time with my boys makes me happy.




Do you have an Everyday Life project to share? You can link up with the Heart 2 Heart Challenge!

A Teeny Tiny Shift

Sometimes, making a teeny tiny change to your stamping technique can make all the difference!

Shadow stamping is something I love, but haven't tried in a while. It is a tricky method for me but the clear acrylic blocks make it much easier.

I used the May Stamp of the Month to stamp the words across my card in black ink, then slightly shifted the stamp up and to the side and re-stamped in Slate ink to get a shadow effect.



It's not perfect or consistent but that's what I like about homemade cards!

I added a black flower from the May SOTM and then added some small hearts and a Red Enamel Gem to add some colour to the card.

If you have a teeny tiny inspired project, we would love for you to link up with us this month at Heart 2 Heart Challenges.

For a Wonderful Woman

So many things in life are wonderful- the world around us, chocolate chip cookies, and of course friends and family!

My mother in law is am amazing woman, and I wanted to make her a card to let her know I was thinking of her during a difficult time.

I used the Hello Lovely Paper Packet as the base of this card, and used the coordinating cardstock to perfectly match the patterned paper.



I stamped the sentiment in Fern cardstock, which is from the retired For Family stamp set. I added some of the Hello Lovely Complements around the white cardstock, as well as a sticker on top of the Green Shimmer Trim.

What do you think is wonderful? Join up your Wonderful World projects with us this week over at Heart 2 Heart challenges!

April Showers bring May Flowers

It is definitely April Showers this week as the weather forecast is looking particularly gloomy- the school run today involved the car and multiple umbrellas!

This week's challenge at H2H is April Showers- and for me it conjures up images of flowers that will be blossoming after the rain.

I pulled out a half-created layout featuring flowers and the retired Penelope Paper Packet. I especially love the combination of stamped and fussy cut images, and so i created a cluster focal point with flowers using this technique. I sponged the centre of the stamped flower with Lagoon ink for extra contrast and stamped the sentiment in Black and Lagoon ink to make the word friend stand out.

Here is the completed layout- notice the subtle floral touches in the paper (yay for Zip Strips) and the triple matting of the photo to make it stand out.



The finishing touches were some washi tape and glitter gems, and now I have a layout showcasing one of my favourite pictures of me and my friend Amy.

Dreaming of Adventure

My boys and I love having adventures, so the Dreamin' Big Paper Packet immediately caught my eye from the new Seasonal Expressions.

I used 3 4x5.5 photos and created a grid type layout to showcase us in nature. The greens and oranges really help to make the grey title pop, which I cut from one of the Dreamin' Big PML cards.



I added an arrow from the matching Dreamin' Big Complements, as well as a small love heart sticker and the today tab.

The dragonfly was stamped in Juniper ink and then rolled in Sunset to create the two toned image. I love the matching thin cuts as it made cutting the dragonfly out so much easier!

I backed the grid layout onto Sunset cardstock to anchor all the pieces together, and finished off with a journal tag from a retired SOTM.

If you love having adventures, Dreamin' Big is such a perfect paper pack for documenting nature!