Some cards for a friend

As a birthday gift for a friend, I made 12 of the 20 cards in the Wishes Just Because card workshop.  I used a left over Tickled Pink set and my friend really liked them. 

Heart 2 Heart Challenge, Sentimentally Yours

So this week at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge, we have to use a Close To My Heart sentiment stamp to create our project.  Be sure to check out the challenge blog here for all the beautiful artwork. 
Shortly after we started school, I met a woman who's husband works for the Royal Australian Air Force.  He is on the same project that my husband is on, but they don't work together.  Each of our middle children are in the same kindergarten class and she knows what it is like to live overseas.  She lived in Seattle for three years while her hubby was on this project. 
Anyway, this kind lady has taken me under her wing and showed me the ropes of living in Australia.  I'd be lost without her.  I decided to make her a card and here it is.

I used the Stay Left pattern out of Wishes and made my own background paper.  I took a piece of bamboo textured cardstock and sprayed it lightly with water.  Once damp, I crumbled it all up and then flattened it back out.  I let it dry and then stamped the KINDNESS stamp from the set State of Mind in Cocoa ink across it.  I then cut it to size.  I used Vineyard Berry and Cocoa cardstock for the rest and hand-stitched the edges of the Vineyard Berry.  I used a scrap of Vineyard Berry ribbon and stamped the Thanks in Vineyard Berry.  The Thanks is from the stamp set For Every Occasion.  It was also stamped on a bit of bamboo textured cardstock. 

I think that my friend will like the card and I'm happy with how it turned out. 
Thanks for looking!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge, Color Challenge

So this week at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge, we have a color challenge.

These colors really make me think of fall.  There's a problem though.  It's not Fall here.  It is 12 days into Spring.   So it took me most of the week to come up with something that I liked... and I LOVE how it turned out.

Thanks to inspiration from Tresa Black's bandana technique, I created my own background paper.  The cardstock started off as white daisy.  Using two stamps from the Summer Wishes set, I random stamped the cardstock.  I then carefully colored all the swirls on the flowers with a white pencil.  Using a sponge, I then rubbed Autumn Terracotta ink all over the page.  I had planned to add some white dots like Tresa does, but I actually loved how it looked without the dots.  I picked a pattern from Wishes called Simplicity.   I mounted my paper on some sanded New England Ivy cardstock and added another strip of it across the front.  I rubbed ink on a 2x2 square of colonial white cardstock.  I used candles from the Everyday Celebrations card kit and masked them.  I wanted the flames to be Honey and not NEI.  The word "wishes" is from the Summer Wishes set and "birthday" is from A Litte Everything.  I popped up the square with foam tape and added two old Autumn Terracotta spirals under it.  I am really happy with how it turned out!

Heart 2 Heart, week 4, project #2

I was so inspired by the Heart 2 Heart Challenge (http://heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com/2010/04/heart-2-heart-4-challenge.html) that I actually made two projects. I am home with sick kids today, so I am filling up my time with projects.
I used an older paper for this card. We are putting together some care packages for troops overseas so I thought I would make a card to go in them.
Here it is!


All products used are Close To My Heart. The pattern for the card came from our Wishes book and is called "Done Right" (pg 119).
I used the Blue Ribbon paper pack, Thoughtful Seasons stamp set for the "thanks", our twill and outdoor denim twill ribbon, soft set eyelets, hemp, and a chipboard star from a long ago Constant Campaign (Dazzling Diecuts, Fall 2008). I inked the star with Cranberry ink using my rubber brayer.
This is the first time that I have put eyelets in twill ribbon. It was tricky as the eyelets kept pulling through. I've done it in grosgrain ribbon before and it is much easier.
I wove two colors of ribbon together for the background of the star. The ribbon gets adhered to a piece of cardstock before the star is put on and it is all cut.
A close up:



Thanks for looking!