July Guest Designer: Vicki Dutcher

Our fabulous guest designer for July is none other than Vicki Dutcher of All I Do Is Stamp fame.  For her card Vicki used Hero Arts Stamp Your Own Plant and the Penny Black Love Cup die, both available in the store.

Don't you love how bright and eye-catching her card is?  That graphic black and white stripe section just POPS!

Thank you, Vicki, for joining us this month!  Vicki will be back again on July 28 so be sure to stop by then for more creativity!

Hero Arts Stamp Your Own Plant

Penny Black Love Cup Die

InLinkz.com

Challenge #1 Winners and More Inspiration

Wow, it was so hard to narrow down our choices for the winners of our first challenge! It was a close one too--that's what happens when the cards are so so amazing!

Without further ado, the winner is . . . Cris G of The Papabric Writer!  Congratulations, Cris!  Take a look at her beautiful card--squee!  Cris, we'd like to invite you to be a guest designer for an upcoming challenge! Please expect an email soon.

The honorable mentions were fab too.  Congratulations, in order of entry, to Cris (yes, again!), Ashwini, Anni and Jean! Absolutely all of the entries were fantastic and we hope you all continue to play at The Heart Desires!  Please, everyone, grab a badge from the top tab.

#7 Cris G

8 - Ashwini

20 - Anni

21 - Jean

InLinkz.com

Now our current challenge has been underway for a week, leaving you plenty of time to join in!

I love the challenge pic so much that I made 3 more cards.  Wow, right?!
Read more about them on my blog, Frankie Helps Craft.

(using Neat and Tangled Awesome die, Tim Holtz watercolor paper, Turquoise Brushos)

(using Authentique Utopia Authentic Life Cards, Pink Paislee Distress Bliss embossing folder)

(using Clear Wink of Stella, Concord and 9th Pop Art Pineapple, Ranger Round Ink Applicators, Stampendous Tropical Pineapple)

Neat & Tangled Awesome Die	Concord and 9th Pop Art Pineapple	Stampendous Tropical Pineapple	Authentique Utopia Authentic Life Cards
Pink Paislee Citrus Bliss A2 Embossing Folder	Brushos, Turquoise	Wink of Stella, Clear	Tim Holtz Watercolor Paper
Ranger Round Ink Applicators

InLinkz.com

The Heart Desires Challenge 2 - More Inspiration!

Hello!

Kimberly Wiener here.  If you are not familiar with The Heart Desires, we are a handful of crafty friends in the PNW (Pacific Northwest of Washington State) that get together that share our passion and love of cardmaking with you.  We have favorites and essential crafty tools and supplies that we cannot live without, and we also have some personal faves too.    

Can you see the shimmer and shine and subtle sparkle of the Wink of Stella on the hibiscus bloom?

Here is the Challenge Inspiration again for you, and a direct link to the challenge Link-up so you do not have to scroll around!

(HERE) 

Elements:  Colors, Tropical, Sketch

1. Challenges will run from the first Wednesday to the last Wednesday of each month.
2. Use one, two or three of the identified elements.
3. If you choose to use colors, you need only use 2 or 3 of them.  Use your choice of neutrals (white, kraft, black, gray).
4. Identify the elements you chose to use if not readily evident.
5. Enter up to 3 times and combine with no more than 5 challenges, including ours.
6. Include the inspiration pic as well as a link to the challenge in your post.
7. The challenge winner will be invited to be a future guest designer.
8. Most importantly, have fun!!!!

You don't have to shop or use supplies from The Heart Desires to join us in the challenges, though I will say that each of us have selected some of the supplies to have added to the shop that we really love and hopefully with help others get crafty too!  So we do hope that you will take a peek around!

My card creation today features a few art supply essentials that I REALLY love and cannot live without!  

My go to supplies, Wink of Stella, Strathmore Mixed Media Paper, Zig Aquabrushes!

Have fun and I hope to see you join us!

Hello Adventure!

Happy Thursday, everyone! It's hard to believe we're so close to the weekend once again; harder still to believe that last week today I was climbing the grand dune at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City, Oregon, supping 'til sunset at the ocean's edge, and gazing at a billion stars in the pre-dawn dark.  Yesterday heralded my return to work prepping for a full summer of teaching.  You know you've had a pretty good vacation (despite a few bumps and bruises along the way) when you return to work excited to get back down to business and catch up with, in my case, the kids!

I am equally excited to share with you the mini-journal I created, partly inspired by our current Challenge that began yesterday!  Check it out and play along!  If you need some more inspiration (as if that were possible!), check out what I have to offer below!

I have been making mini-albums for about a year.  You can check out my first here (you'll notice a couple of familiar faces from this DT!) and a recent one for my student over at my Instagram @pinnednpenned #absolutelywonderfulalbum

I have featured a stamp set I adore, Whale of a Tail, by Carta Bella, which is available in the store.

I have also kept with the colors and theme of our current challenge throughout the journal--pinks, limes, tropical.  I suppose this mini would be much better suited for my Hawaii trip, but hey, who really needs pineapples and humidity, and what's a little wind, when you have sun and sand stretching forever before you?!

I stamped the whale on vellum and heat embossed, then fussy cut.  We were lucky enough to see a grey whale very close up at the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, and later ate (well, attempted to eat before a migraine took me down) at a gorgeous new restaurant Albatross in Astoria.  I totally fell in love with Astoria on this trip--its restaurants, coffee, boutiques, seafaring history, and beer culture.  I can't wait to go back! 

You can see the little flap pocket I made (on the right in above photo) which I have stuffed with some Carpe Diem Bits and Pieces.

This little mini within my mini has been embellished with Simple Stories Carpe Diem products (anchor, sentiment sticker) also found in the store.

Here's the inside embellished with the Carta Bella stamps; Delicata Gold embossed on vellum for the lighthouse and adventure sentiment stamped with Hero Arts Ombre Pink.  All available in the store.

Here's what's fun about this little book-- see the epoxy button flair?  I cut out one of the Simple Stories Carpe Diem Insta Quote stickers and adhered a clear epoxy button.  Voila, flair!

The papers you see are a combination of digitally printed papers from The Lilypad and some old Michael's kraft 12x12 which has a combo of journaling cards and papers.  Perfect for minis!

What adventure are you ready for?

It's so hard to come to the end of  a journey!

Here are the Carpe Diem stickers I plan to use with photos and journal pages, and a few more flair buttons I made from the collection.

I'll leave you with a few favorite pics from the trip, soon to grace the pages of my album!

At Devils Punchbowl

Foyer of the Commodore Hotel in Astoria

Street 14 Coffee attached to the Commodore.

Thanks so much for indulging me and reliving a bit of a wonderful trip with me today!

Happy trails and crafting to you!

The Heart Desires Challenge 2

Welcome!  We have another fabulous challenge for you this month! Isn't that tropical image just luscious?  You'll find we have quite a few items in the shop that would pair so nicely with it.  Be sure to browse for added inspiration!

This time we have a picture as well as a sketch--say what?  Yes!  A sketch!   The three elements this round are colors, tropical theme, or the sketch.  A little something something for everybody!

Elements:  Colors, Tropical, Sketch

Toni
(using Concord and 9th Pop Art Pineapple Stamps and Dies, Doodlebug Striped Washi, Hero Arts Neon Yellow to Orange and Lime to Forever Green Ombre)

Kimberly

(using Concord & 9th Floral and Flutter Dies and Neat and Tangled Hand Stitched)

Medium Watercolor Brush Strathmore Mixed Media Paper

Katie
(using Concord & 9th Floral and Flutter Dies and Hero Arts Hello Gorgeous)

Amy

(using Stampendous Tropical Pineapple and Lawn Fawn Scripty Thanks Wood Veneer)

Kate

(Using Ranger Watercolor Paper, Concord & 9th Wonderful Woman, Neat & Tangled Die, Hero Arts Ombre Pink)



Please read the rules below before you enter.  We can't wait to see what your heart desired!

Challenge Rules:

1. Challenges will run from the first Wednesday to the last Wednesday of each month.
2. Use one, two or three of the identified elements.
3. If you choose to use colors, you need only use 2 or 3 of them.  Use your choice of neutrals (white, kraft, black, gray).
4. Identify the elements you chose to use if not readily evident.
5. Enter up to 3 times and combine with no more than 5 challenges, including ours.
6. Include the inspiration pic as well as a link to the challenge in your post.
7. The challenge winner will be invited to be a future guest designer.
8. Most importantly, have fun!!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hope Anchors the Soul

Happy 4th of July!  It's Amy here with a nautical inspired card!  I'll start from the bottom and work my way up...Dry Embossing.  I love it and have quite a collection of embossing folders.  Lately, I've been loving a white panel with embossing, it packs a punch without necessarily taking away form the other elements of the card design.

I cut my own tag and used the Carta Bella Crab Stencil with Peacock Feather distress ink and a Mini Ink blending tool.  I used red pigment ink and stamped the Neat and Tangled Hope Anchors which I quickly followed with clear embossing powder.

I topped off my tag with gold glitter cardstock and some twine.  

I hope everyone has a fun + safe holiday!

Thank You and Challenge 2 Sneak

 

Thanks to everyone who joined in our first challenge! We were blown away by the amazing entries! We'll announce the winners in a couple of weeks along with some mid-challenge inspiration.

As a reminder, our next challenge will begin on Wednesday, July 6, so be on the look out.  Perhaps this little sneak gets your creative gears turning?  See you soon!