Monday, January 23, 2017

Stay Cool with Lawn Fawn


Hi all, it's Amy here with a winter themed card.  I used the Lawn Fawn Stay Cool set.  It's so cute and perfect for these cold winter months!  I teamed it up with the Perfectly Plaid - Winter Paper Pad.

I used the Ranger Watercolor Paper and did a quick pale blue watercolor wash on the upper portion of my square panel.  I embossed the snow flurry from the Stay Cool set.

Do you see the glittery detail on the snow bank?


Have you joined us for Challenge #8 yet?


Thanks so much for stopping by!!!



Thursday, January 19, 2017

Snowflake Thanks

Hi everyone it's Lenae here from SugarGem. Today I challenged myself to create a card with very few layers with the THD Challenge #8 inspiration. I always struggle with simple cards. I always feel like I have to layer and layer, but I have a hard time stopping. So here is my attempt. Let me now what you think.



XOXO
SugarGem

Monday, January 16, 2017

Hugs

Hey all, Katie here.  I was lucky enough to spend time with family and friends this weekend.  among that time I got to hug some very special people and enjoy their presence.  Who doesn't like a good hug?  

Speaking of hugs, here's one for all of you out there. 


This sweet girls is soooo cute.  She reminds me of my girl, who is 9 but still carries around her teddy bear.  

Here is what I did, to start, the sentiment is stamped on watercolor paper.  I used my Ranger Distress ink Electric Lime with my watercolor brush to color the background.  I colored and cut this sweet girl from Neat & Tangled's Better Together Stamp set.   After adding a few darling flower shaped sequins I mounted it over this sweet Designer Paper from American Crafts Everyday Paper Pad.



Have you joined this month's challenge yet?  Hurry, there is still time with this fabulous inspiration photo!


Thanks for your visit!


  

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Challenge #7 Winners & More Inspiration

Our December holiday challenge had amazing entries so it was a really close vote. Realllly close.

The winner is #12 Maria F! Way to go, Maria!  Your fun tag was so well done. We especially loved your peekaboo car and trailer against the stylized trees. Perfection!


The honorable mentions wowed us too. Congratulations in order of entry to #26 Jen W and #24 Cornelia (fun stamping)! Everyone, please grab a badge from the top tab if you like.




There's still plenty of time to join in our current challenge #8 which runs through January 31. Hope to see you there!





Thursday, January 5, 2017

Wintery Thanks!

Happy New Year, THD fans!  We have an inspiring first week of January over here and I hope you have seen our wintery challenge for this month!

Today I have a holiday thank you fitting for the season and featuring Brushos!  Have you tried these yet?  I finally had a chance to break into mine and experiment over the holiday break-- they are so much fun and fairly easy to manipulate.



First I shook some Emerald green Brushos onto dry Tim Holtz watercolor paper, being fairly deliberate about where I applied the crystals, as I wanted more of a splattered and multi-colored look with white space, rather than a blended watercolor look which is easily achieved with these.

That is what is great about Brushos-- you can really manipulate the crystals, so more effects are achieved than what you get when just using watercolors or Distress inks.

They remind me of Pop Rocks-- without the fizzing.  I don't, however, recommend eating them!

After applying crystals, I spritzed them using a Mini-Mister, from about 6 inches directly above for a fine mist, then close up for larger water droplets.  The distance had an effect on the response of the crystals.  I tried not to use too much water so I would get a more mottled effect.

I blended in some placeswith a wet brush, and for the very dark green, I picked up some crystals on a wet brush and applied here and there.

After about 30 minutes of drying time, I cut my branches.  Note that if some of the crystals don't disolve, you can just gently brush them off with a dry brush.  But be careful as they will stain everything if you have any moisture-- on brush or finger!



I adhered my branches to a Gold Delicata inked, heat embossed, and fussy cut vellum Concord and 9th Tree Ring (you all know by now just how much I love this stamp!!).

While I have used some other products here for my branches, flower, and embossed background, there are some great alternatives in the store that would look amazing.  The Avery Elle Pinecone Die would work beautifully with this card design atop the tree ring, as would the Altenew Poinsettia Stamp and Die set!

The sentiment is from Concord and 9th's Brushed Blossoms.

Tonya's currently out of the Avery Elle Dotted Border Die, but you could use the Avery Elle Snow Caps dies to cut a similar curved border-- and this set is so versatile and fun!



Alternate Product Options available in store for CASEing my card:
Love My Tapes Gold Stripe Foil Washi Tape
Love My Tapes Gold Stripe washi

Richard Garay Knit Pattern Embossing Folder
Richard Garay Knit Embossing Folder
Altenew Poinsettia & PineAvery Elle Pinecone Die - The Heart DesiresAvery Elle Snow Caps Die




That's it for me today! Hope you were inspired to start your new year with some new techniques and products!  Thanks for joining me today!

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

The Heart Desires Challenge 8


Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to dive back into our favorite of favorite hobbies!  Not only do we have a new challenge picture for you, we have a wonderful announcement--Eunji Jung has joined our design team!  Welcome, Eunji!  Be sure to check out what she made for the challenge as well as what Mayra, winner of challenge 5, has for you.

How are you inspired by the challenge photo? The wintery colors, snow people, flowers, desserts? Come join in the fun!

When you post your entries, feel free to tag us on social media!
#thdchallenge, #theheartdesiresstore

Eunji
(Using Altenew Painted Flowers)