Have a Fabulous Day!

I couldn't wait to play with the new challenge that starts on Wednesday so this is kind of a sneak peak at what is coming up!

I loved this Flamingo Floatie set by Neat & Tangled from the first moment I saw it!  It is adorable!
I have had the Hero Arts Wave Stencil for awhile and finally got to play with it.  It makes such a fun background.

Today is the last day of our First Anniversary sale so be sure to check it out!

Wishing you a fabulous day!

Tonya

Hello

Hello + Happy Monday!  It's Amy here with you today and I have four cards to share!  I concentrated on using the Doodlebug Design Cream & Sugar collection:

It's no secret that I love my caffeine and this particular collection makes me super happy.  How can you resist those smiley faces?!

So what helps you design quick cards?  I'm a big fan of collections which I always think helps me put together projects much quicker.  

My first two cards feature the Doodlebug Cream & Sugar 6x6 paper pad, cardstock stickers + odds and ends die cuts.

These next two cards use the same supplies plus the Donuts Mini Doodle-Pops + Flora & Fauna Texture stamp set:

So what are your designing tips?

Something that always inspires me are challenges.  Make sure you check out our latest one:

Sales definitely help the mojo:

I hope you have a GREAT week!

You Are Jawsome!

Hi there!  It's Lenae here from SugarGem!

How could you not totally love this darling mini set from Lawn Fawn? Lawn Fawn Duh-Nuh Stamp Set!!! Always fun to play with this little mini set!

I also used the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box Card Die.

Thanks for stopping by! 

XOXO 

SugarGem 

Mid-Challenge 14 Inspiration

Our anniversary celebration is going on through the end of July and you could be a winner!  One of the ways is to the enter this month's challenge! Read about the details on the main post.

We have more inspiration for you and hope you'll join in the fun!

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

#thdchallenge, #theheartdesiresstore

As an added bonus, everything in The Heart Desires is 20% through July 31. Use the code CELEBRATESUMMER2017!

******************

Erin (winner of Challenge 10)
(using: Flora and Fauna Adventure Set)

Toni
(using Neat & Tangled Making Waves, Distress Ink Picked Raspberry and Mermaid Lagoon)

Wendy
(using Lawn Fawn Year Seven Pinata and Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Rainbow 6x6 Paper)

Katie
(using Neat and Tangled Mermazing, Distress Oxide Broken China, We R Memory Keepers Wave Next Level EF)

Jen
(using Flora & Fauna Birthday Set and Glass Dome Set, Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nested Rectangle Die, Ranger Glossy Accents)

Juhi
(using Concord & 9th Wildflower and Love You, Mean It)

Concord & 9th Wildflower	Concord & 9th Love You, Mean It	Flora & Fauna Birthday Set	Flora & Fauna Glass Dome Set
Lawn Fawn Year Seven Pinata	Neat and Tangled Mermazing	Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nested Rectangle Dies	Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Rainbow 6x6 Paper
Distress Oxide Ink Broken China	We R Memory Keepers Wave Next Level EF	Ranger Glossy Accents

LinkDeli.com

Just a little thanks

Hi!  Katie here sharing a fun card today!  I happened to go to a picnic at a friends yesterday and I thought this was the perfect way to say thank you with this cute melon eating hippo as the start of the show. 

I started by stamping and coloring the image N&T Beach Day image with my Copics.  She is sooooooo cute, squee.  Once I had that completed I embossed some white cardstock with my We R Memory Keepers- NL Embossing- Quilted folder.  I added a strip of paper from American Crafts Everyday 6X6 pad.  I Cut the sentiment from Little Yellow Bicycle and then used my Ranger Ink Distressed- Picked Raspberry and Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool to give it that ombre look.  I am pretty pleased with the results.  Anything cute makes me happy. 

Also, don't forget to join for our July THD Challenge here. 

Thanks for visiting me here today! 

CHALLENGE 13 WINNERS & Anniversary Hop Reminder

So hard to choose our winners for Challenge 13 but choose we did!  

The winner is #1 YoonYoung Kim (@znfn84). YoonYoung, your bold and graphic elements are perfectly paired with the softness of the blooms.  Absolutely gorgeous! Congrats!

#1 YoonYoung Kim (@znfn84)

The honorable mentions wowed us too. Congratulations in order of entry to #5 I Card Everyone and #17 Green Blooms (@hellobaloo)!  Everyone, please grab a badge from the top tab if you like.

#5 I Card Everyone

#17 Green Blooms (@hellobaloo)

We hope you all join in the fun and inspire us again! There's still plenty of time to join in our current challenge #14 which runs through July 31. Remember, starting with this challenge entries will be eligible to win a gift certificate to the store! We're also celebrating our anniversary with prizes to be won.  Read more about it here.  Hope to see you there!

You are FABULOUS!

Kimberly with you today, hopefully enticing you to join our challenge with this bold and colorful one layer card!

I started out with a flat one layer card base and stamped the Neat & Tangled Flamingo Floatie image.  [ I just LOVE these FUN images, don't you?!! ]  I stamped another image on separate piece of cardstock, cut it out and used it to mask as I sponged Ranger Distress Ink Tumbled Glass, and Mermaid Lagoon for the sky and water background.  I Copic colored the image, added the sentiment, also embossing a portion of the sentiment with Hero Arts White Embossing powder on black cardstock with added foam mount tape. some touches with a Signo White Gel Pen, and a little confetti sequin "bling," I was done! 

I based my coloring on the current Challenge #14 amazing images and vibrant colors. I sure hope that you are as excited as we are about the AMAZING inspiration challenge boards that The Heart Desires has, the MORE than amazing DT creations, and the SALE and special prizes for the 1 year Anniversary!!!  

 I look forward to seeing you join us in the Gallery!!

 

Summer Vibes

In the Pacific Northwest, Seattle specifically, they say that summer officially starts after the Fourth of July.  This year, we had an unseasonably warm June, but I've been feeling the summer vibes ever since my Memorial Day trip to our local outdoor pool (well, maybe I've been feeling them since February when I started planning my trip to California!).

At any rate, summer is in full swing for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and I have been living easier than is typical for me with some additional time off and a lighter teaching schedule.  So I created a card that channeled a retro summer vibe and our current challenge graphic.

If you are familiar with my work, you know I like mixing up materials and brands, and for The Heart Desires, I always challenge myself to see just how many products I can use from the store!

Today's card features a stamp set I love, Whale Tail by Carta Bella, but one I don't see used much in cardmaking land-- but I should-- and you should get it now while it's 20% off!  I featured it here in my mini-journal, exactly a year ago!

There are a lot of nautical sets on the market, but this one is different, a bit quirky like a lot of the Carta Bella stamps, and the quality is great.  The nautical vibe doesn't seem to be leaving the design world any time soon, so I suggest you add this one to your collection!

I paired it with the new Layering Whale set from Hero Arts (called 'Blue Whale', but it's really a humpback they designed...note the fins).  Love this set, love the layering, love that it's a humpback, as we just had a humpback visit the Sound last month!  The wave pattern stamp I feature here is perfect-- like it REALLY represents how the Puget Sound looks when the wind is gently skimming the surface.  I live on the beach and watch the changing water out my studio window throughout the day.  It's such a treat for this water baby!

Tonya has a great collection of Gina Marie Designs dies-- another less commonly seen brand out there-- but they are affordable and unique, and you can create the fern spray I made here with the Aloha set.

But this card didn't end up working out as easy-breezy as it looks.  Wouldn't that just be the way when everything seems to be going along so smoothly?

So where did this card go very wrong, you ask?  First it was the misplaced cross-stitched circle die in the size I needed (it was eventually found on the floor under my desk), and then it was a very poor design decision when I tried (and big-time failed) to appropriately place my sentiment (it's hiding under the yellow circle sticker).  After all the layering, and perfect stamping of the lighthouse, the die cutting and permanent placement of all the pieces-- the sentiment situation made the card a total fail. Too much summer heat!

I took a step back, let it get cold (as a professor once told me to do with my writing-- such sage advice) and then decided to rummage through stickers and ephemera to find something that might actually cover up the mishap and salvage the card.  Maggie Holmes to the rescue-- a Chasing Dreams sticker and Oasis collection sentiment on the tag.  I still don't love the ensemble as much as my original plan, but I do like the repetition of circles and I wasn't about to let the materials and time spent go to waste.

I re-visioned my original sentiment and created the inner greeting using Concord and 9th's Sophisticated Script Letters. Luckily it works with the font on the tag as well!

The inside bottom is finished with some translucent paper tape in yellow-green, echoing the yellow on the front.

Tonya has a lot of new goodies in the store, so if you're looking to make some summery cards with a nautical or tropical vibe, look no further.  Play along at the challenge this month and grab some goods for 20% off.  I can't wait to see what you create!

Happy summer!

The Heart Desires Challenge 14

We're celebrating the anniversary of The Heart Desires Store and the THD Challenge this month with a hop where you could be a winner! It seems like just yesterday that our journey started--insert damp eyes--and we want to share the love!  At the same time we're going to start something new for the challenge.

HOP RULES

• There are up to 3 opportunities to win a $20 gift certificate to the store.
• Leave a comment on this post on the blog, IG, and/or FB.  You must be a THD follower of each platform you comment on for your vote to count.
• Enter the challenge for an additional chance to win a $10 gift certificate. Don't forget to link back to the challenge in your personal post.
• Winners will be randomly selected from the eligible entries and announced August 2 so you have plenty of time to comment and enter.

HOP BONUS

• Some of the DT will be offering up prizes on their own social media platforms. Visit the DT for more details.

CHALLENGE RULES

• NEW:  A randomly selected participant each month will receive a $10 gift certificate to the store. Who doesn't like an excuse to shop?!
• NEW:  If you would like to be a guest designer on the blog, please add GD next to your name when you enter.
• Don't worry. We'll still be choosing our favorites.
• Challenges will run from the first Wednesday to the last day of each month. 
• Enter up to 3 times and combine with no more than 6 challenges, including ours. 
• Include the challenge inspiration pic or link in your post. 
• The challenge winner will be invited to be a future guest designer. 
• Use whatever products you have on hand.
• Most importantly, have fun!!!!

STORE SALE

• As an added bonus, everything in The Heart Desires is 20% through July 31.  Use the code CELEBRATESUMMER2017!

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

#thdchallenge, #theheartdesiresstore

**************************************

Erin (winner of Challenge 10)

Toni
(using NT Woof, HA Killer Messages, DI Mermaid Lagoon & Tumbled Glass)


Katie
(using Carta Bella Anchors Away Stencil and C9 Heartstrings Die)

Jen

(using Flora & Fauna Under the Sea, GMD Scalloped Stitched Rectangle Dies, Turquoise Brushos, Zig H2O Detail Watercolor Brush)

Wendy

(using NT Awesome die)

Lenae

(using LF Mermaid for You and Year Six) 

 

Amy
(using Hero Arts Color Layering Whale and Ranger Watercolor Paper)


Juhi
(using Concord & 9th Wildflower and Beautiful You dies)



Kimberly
(using Paper Smooches Surf n Turf, DI Mermaid Lagoon & Tumbled Glass)


Kate
(using Waffle Flower Flora Cat Play, Memory Box Underwater Collage and Seaweed Collage dies, Gina Marie Designs X-stitched Rectangle Dies, DI Mermaid Lagoon & Tumbled Glass, Ranger Watercolor Paper and Round Ink Applicator, Ultramarine Brushos, Hero Arts Ombre Ocean Sequins)

Concord & 9th Wildflower	Hero Arts Killer Messages	Hero Arts Color Layering Whale	Lawn Fawn Mermaid for You
Lawn Fawn Year Six	Neat and Tangled Woof	Paper Smooches Surf N Turf	Waffle Flower Flora Cat Play
Concord & 9th Beautiful You Dies	Concord & 9th Heartstrings Die	Memory Box Underwater Collage Die	Memory Box Seaweed Collage Die
Neat & Tangled Awesome Dies	Gina Marie Designs X-stitched Rectangle Dies	Gina Marie Scalloped Stitched Rectangle Dies	Carta Bella Anchors Away Stencil
VersaFine Onyx Black	Zig H2O Detail Watercolor Brush	Brushos, Turquoise	Brushos, Ultra Marine
Distress Ink Mermaid Lagoon	Distress Ink Tumbled Glass	Ranger Round Ink Applicators	Ranger Round Ink Applicators Refills
Strathmore Bristol Vellum Paper	Ranger Watercolor Paper	Hero Arts Ombre Ocean Sequins

LinkDeli.com

An InLinkz Link-up