"Let's Hear It For the Boys" Heart 2 Heart Challenge

For this week's June Heart 2 Heart Challenge, the theme is "Let's Hear It For the Boys". I tend to create mostly feminine, cutesy artwork but there's always a need for masculine items so I am thankful for this challenge. With Father's Day taking place yesterday, it was a great way for me to be productive for both occasions. 

My husband loves to fish, although he hasn't done so in quite some time. The moment I saw this image in the "No Ordinary Dad" Special, I immediately thought it would be perfect for him. 

I kept the card simple, using a sketch from our Make It From Your Heart Volume 4 How-To Book. I did slightly adjust it to fit the bigger image and sentiment. 

I did paper-piece the fish, and used Watercolor Pencils, to be able to 3-D it for some added dimension. The colors I included are his favorites. 

These are the stamp sets available from the "No Ordinary Dad" Special. There are three options or you can purchase all of them, at a discounted price. Which is your favorite saying/image?

I invite you to join us for this creative challenge on the Heart 2 Heart Blog. To join the fun, simply link up to us at the bottom of the respective post. We love seeing your creativity! Make it a great week!

"Here Comes the Sun" Sunburst Technique

Thank you so much for joining me for this month's Technique Blog Hop where we are featuring the "Sunburst". 

Participants can choose to create the technique from scratch, OR they can use the Sunburst Background Thin Cut from Close To My Heart. (Because it is so popular, unfortunately it is currently on backorder. That tells you how popular it is! With it being on "backorder", that means you can still include it on your order and it will ship separately, from your other products, once it becomes available again.)

If you are coming from Krista's Blog, you are on the right track. 

While I considered using the Thin Cut and cutting different pattern pieces for each pie piece, I decided to follow the lead of one of my customers. She sent me a card where she had used patterned paper for the main background. I decided to use our Sunbeam Holographic Paper as the background. Isn't the name of it perfectly fitting for this technique? We have five different colors to choose from as well as these awesome butterfly sequins. 

I cut out the sunburst pieces from Black Cardstock, keeping the design of this card very simple. While the holographic paper is gorgeous, it changes colors based upon the angle and lighting and I am cautious what I pair with it.

The zig zag circle (I'm not sure what that design is called), which creates the focal point, was cut from a Thin Cut provided in the You Are Enough Stamp + Thin Cuts set (available through the end of this month). 

A friend was visiting, as I created this, and she suggested I cut the circle piece out of the focal point and then stamp directly onto the background. That's exactly what I did for this resulting look. (Typically, when I am looking at this card, these are the colors I see most often. It's very different from the top photo, don't you agree?) 

Feeling like the card needed some sort of accent, I realized how awesome these bottom You Are Enough [Butterfly] Sequins would look with it. I was pleased with the result and hope yoou like it as well. It's a sweet and simple card that can be used for any occasion. 

I appreciate you stopping by and invite you to head over to Wendy's Blog to see what she has created to share with you. Then, be sure to continue making your way around the Blog Hop. I hope our artwork inspires you to create something incorporating this technique. 

Happy hoppin'!

Participants:

1. Melissa Robinson *YOU ARE HERE*
2. Wendy Kessler
3. Cat Nowak
4. Michelle Loncar
5. Haley Dyer
6. Danielle Wagner
7. Darlys Recker
8. Brandi Robinson
9. Lauren Moore
10. Kim Loewen
11. Miss Carrie
12. Brenda Lapp
13. Krista Hershberger

Heart 2 Heart Challenge: Get Inky!

We're kicking off the June Heart 2 Heart Challenges with the theme of "Get Inky". There are so many ways to consider this theme, especially as you incorporate stamping. Be sure to incorporate at least one Close To My Heart product as you participate in this challenge and link up to it on the Heart 2 Heart Blog. 

With Father's Day around the corner, and wanting to use a new stamp set, as part of the "No Ordinary Dad" Special, this is the card I designed. 

I did select three colors in which to ink up the sentiment: Bluebird, Clover and Sapphire. I did first ink up the image in Clover and then added Bluebird towards the top and Sapphire towards the bottom. I wanted to create an ombre' effect. While the colors blended quite a bit, I was pleased with the results and then designed other elements around the focal point. 

I did stamp the image, again, in Candy Apple, and cut out the respective hearts, then gluing them on top. Using Sapphire ink, I random-stamped the background, on Bluebird cardstock, for added texture. I couldn't resist adding a little bit of Silver, feeling it was necessary to separate the papers. 

I hope you will consider joining this Challenge, and others, on Heart 2 Heart. If you have questions, feel free to post them below, on the Blog, or you can email me directly. 

Make it a great week and don't forget to create as much as you can!

"Outdoor Borders" June Stamp of the Month

 Welcome to the June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop where we are featuring, "Outdoor Borders"!

This stamp set, which includes 9 awesome borders, can be your for $5 or FREE (if you're a VIP), when you place a minimum $50 order this month. 

These borders, in a variety of themes, are great to add to your greeting cards or scrapbook pages - big or small. I am sure you will see different ways to use them as you make your way around our Blog Hop.

If you are coming from CatScrapbooking, you are on the right track. You can find a complete list of participants here. 

This card is a shout out to my fellow Educators, who are wrapping up the pandemic school year of 2020-2021. I am sure it is obvious why this border, that includes "hello summer", spoke to me loudly.

Knowing I wanted to incorporate the sun and sentiment, I decided to add some color with the wavy border, in primary colors. While I considered using a stamp image from another set, I decided to 3-D the sentiment and add some Black Dots, in order to keep it simple. I was pleased with the result, drawing the attention to the focal point. I hope you like it too! 

I am looking forward to seeing what the other participants have created with these fun borders. Be sure to head on over to Brenda's Blog to see what she has created to share with you. 

Wishing you an enjoyable June!