Dot & Whimsy

Welcome to this Thursday's

As with each week's Hip Hop, there are THREE $20 Unity Gift Certificates!

TIME TOGETHER Card
This card didn't quite come together as I had envisioned it in my head,
but it will do!  If I had planned a little better, I could have included one of the
two sweet sentiments also found in the stamp set.

I LOVE this stamp by Iron Orchid, Time Well Spent.

I stamped the clock onto the yellow patterned paper, trimmed it out and then

machine stitched it over the same image that I had stamped onto the blue paper.  

I used watercolor pencils to color in the birds.  

I can't wait to try it out again in another fashion...and it has the sweetest sentiment
stamps that goes along with it!

 Journal Stickers by Authentique Paper

And I missed out on getting in my card in time for this week's

so here it is...

I had so much fun with this!  As you can see, I stamped the image three different

times and then trimmed out and layered the various pieces.  I kept the design

clean-and-simple with the addition of a neat red bow at the top :)

Thanks for joining us!

 It's almost "LOVE" Month and I'm up today at

Pink Paislee Blog with two sugary sweet cards :)

 Secret Crush brings you into a world of cupids, arrows and of course, hearts

…perfect for those extra special Valentine Cards that you have in mind to make this year.

  I love seeing that the tradition of ‘giving’ Valentines is making a come-back, greatly 

due to the hobby that we call cardmaking.

I have a couple of cards to share that will hopefully give you a few ideas for creating 

your own cards of amour!  I wanted grand, stately cards that would really showcase

 Secret Crush to its fullest, so I went with a 5″x6.5″ blank white card for both.

 I love layers, layers and more layers! The market supplies us with all sorts of fun dies that make it more interesting and fun to layer.  For this card I started with a print of Polka Dance paper as the backdrop  and then layered with two nested banners cut from the front and back of  Endless Love.

 To the top banner, I flecked on just a bit of Primrose Color Shine Spritz by Heidi Swapp.  

Keep that bottle handy!  See the little X stitching at the top of the Artisan doily?

  I dyed a piece of white thread Primrose before stitching!  I spritzed a small amount into 

a disposable cup and then dipped the thread into it before threading my needle. 

 I also used it to stitch an X at the bottom of the card as well.  And speaking of the doily from the Artisan Circles, I cut just what I needed and added it to the top of the banner, 

saving the other half for another project!

 After centering the cute card from the Paper Goods collection, 

I added a row of hearts that I fussy cut from the Heartbeat paper. 

 A straight stitch gave a little texture to the pink arrow and a trio of 

shiny heart buttons from my stash added some extra pop!

Part of my theory on design is that “what goes up, must come down”…and that has

 nothing to do with gravity hehehe!  Because I stitched the X at the top, then it’s a must

 that I incorporate it somewhere else on the card, which in this case is 

at the bottom of the beautiful Artisan embellishment.  Voila!

Ah yes, this card had me singing… “I love you truly, truly dear…life with its sorrow, life with its tears…” If you’ve watched “It’s A Wonderful Life” then you’re familiar with the tune crooned by the duet, Bert and Ernie (why do those names sound familiar?)

 I’m super picky about dots, so yes, I cut the Polka Dance paper so that the dots would

 be centered as the backdrop for this next card :)   After selecting the bright red I LOVE YOU Photogram, I cut a mat from the back of the First Kiss paper and layered the two

 pieces together with foam dots.  Before attaching it to the background paper, 

I machine stitched the cute “u rock” photo tab to the top.

 Doesn’t the large die-cut heart make a statement.  To it I added the Portfolio Puffy Alpha Stickers,

 which I zig-zagged across with my sewing machine…easy peasy!  

Next, some more fussy-cutting came into play as I selected several clusters of the 

hand-drawn blooms from the Polka Dance paper.  Before attaching them, I colored

 in the leaves with a watercolor pencil…just to give a little pop of extra color.  I also lightly spritzed the flower clusters with a dusting of Color Shine Tinsel Spritz by Heidi Swapp.

 Wanting to create even more dimension, I popped a large Artisan flower to the center of

 the bouquet and then sprinkled a few of the smaller flowers from the Butterfly Wings packet 

around as well.  A little piece of the gray doily (First Kiss paper) peeks out from it all

 and lends a nice border effect.  Carrying through with the pop of red from the top of the card, 

a small piece of a red ticket stub was also added.  And finally, a scalloped edging from the

 Artisan borders is stitched onto the bottom… I love the way the sewing machine

 just glided right over it with no fuss at all!

Have a fabulous Wednesday!

A good Tuesday to you!

Today is the second installment of the 

The shabby chic look of the Pink Dahlias mix perfectly with the cute whimsy of the Mini Florettes

 Be sure to stop by each company's blog to see the

inspiration and leave a comment so that you'll be in the running for 

this terrific prize pack

 

 Authentique will give you an extra chance to WIN if you follow them on 

Instagram...check out the details on the blog :)
GOOD LUCK and thanks for dropping by!

I have a happy little mini album to share created with 

Bella Blvd's new "Love & Marriage" Collection.

A mini album is the perfect palette for small, favorite photos. 

But don't forget the journaling!

 Just Write Journaling Stickers aren't just for scrapbook pages, so think

 of them when preparing your album pages, even if you need to trim them down a bit.

 For this album I used a very inexpensive chipboard 'flower' shaped album found at Michael's.

After tracing and trimming out the papers to fit the flower shape, 

I then reached for the perfect sized jar lid for the inset of each page.

 If you have a large enough template or circle cutter, you may wish to use that instead. 

Because this is a flip-up style album, I had to plan carefully of how to arrange each page's embellishments. Too many thick areas can cause the pages not to lay right.

  Finally, I added a large ring to the top and tied on a simple satin ribbon.


 Supplies:
Love And Marriage: Vows, Smokeys In Love, Cake Tasting, May Eighteenth, 
Cute Cuts, Turner Ballroom, Esther Fleming Floral, Alpha+Bits Stickers,
Just Write Journaling Stickers, Chipboard Icons; 
Engaged At Last: Engagement Chipboard Icons; Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron,
 Gray Chevron; Crochet Hearts: Pickle Juice, Punch; Flags: Engagement; 
Button Market: Hot Pink Flowers, Pink Flowers; Crochet Flowers: Poppy, Dahlia
 See more projects on the blog!

 bellablvd.typepad.com
Have a great week ahead!

For my project this week at 

I designed a card to act as a Thank You, as well as a

little gift for the recipient!

 This is the perfect idea when you're wanting to thank a hostess,

bride's maids, your mom, or anyone who has done something special for you.

Adding a beautiful fabric flower takes a lot of the guess-work out of this sweet 

card and also makes it very quick and easy to put together...here's how it goes:

 

ivory card by Paper Studio.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Yay!  It's finally time to share all of the 

projects that I made for the Bella Blvd. booth at CHA.

Couldn't you picture this all set up for a bridal shower or bachelorette party?

All shapes and sizes of metal dress-forms are readily available and fun to transform. 

For the skirt, I started with a sheet of 12x12 "He Proposed" paper that I cut in

 half to measure 6x12. I then scored each piece (lengthwise) at 1/2" increments. 

Fan fold both 6x12 pieces and attach together at one end. At the bottom,

 use a corner-rounding punch on every-other fold (if desired).

 Next, use a 1/8" hole punch to create holes at the top folds. 

Thread a piece of baker's twine or crochet thread through the holes and then

 tie around the base of the dress-form. 

 Pull the tension until the desired 'gathering' of the skirt is formed. 

For the top, I simply criss-crossed two 1" wide strips of paper and tucked them 

behind the 'waistband' of the dress. I thought that a banner would be fitting for a bridal

 shower, so I created one that announces "Bachelorette Party Girls Only"

 I used a rolled flower die for the lei of flowers around the bodice.

  In finishing, I added a couple of the fun Feathers to the front and back,

 as well as a cute stick pin and satin bow.  

 Supplies:
Engaged At Last: He Proposed, Bridal Shower, Bachelorette Extras;

These little treat containers have the WOW factor, without all of the fuss!

  AND you can make them as large or as small as you'd like.

 For this lot of favors, I began with a 6x6 square of paper for each.

 Using a quick-drying glue or heavy adhesive, glue two ends together; allow to dry. 

Next, machine stitch, glue, or staple the bottom end together.

After filling the inside you will want to close the top so that it is creased opposite of the bottom

 (I machine stitched these, but a hole punch with ribbon tied through also works beautifully). 

 There are so many cute way to decorate the fronts of these!

 I cut strips of papers and sentiments from the Bachelorette Extras Paper 

and layered them with a punched heart and doily die-cut.

For the front of the wire basket, I hand-cut a heart and then backed it with a 

medium-weight chipboard. After embellishing, I tied it onto the basket with satin ribbons.

 Add matching shredded paper to the bottom and then arrange the favors inside!  

 Supplies:
Engaged At Last: He Proposed, Bridal Shower, Bachelorette Party, Bachelorette Extras,

A sweet display that doubles as a gift for the bride-to-be!

 I found this gorgeous, curvy wooden plaque at Michaels.

 It was already painted white, which made decorating that much easier. 

I started by tracing the shape onto the Bachelorette Party Paper.

 In doing so, I wanted to keep the chevron pattern centered,

 so I made sure that it was lined-up accordingly before I began to trace.

 For the top, I had an extra piece of chipboard from a mini album that I 

used to create the bright background. Again, I fashioned a heart by folding a piece

 of paper in half and cutting freehand. I cut the same sized heart from a piece of 

chipboard and machine-stitched the two together. After adding the heart to the center, 

I embellished the top with the initials of the couple, as well as some other fun items!

 Supplies:
Engaged At Last: Bridal Shower, Bachelorette Party, He Proposed, Alpha+Bits Stickers,

More NEW RELEASE projects will be shown throughout the week

at Bella Blvd, so come visit and enjoy!

Okay y'all...seriously, if I could paper my entire

craft room in the new Spring Petite Collection by Authentique,

trust me: I WOULD.

The color combo is every vintage/shabby chic lover's dream!

It truly pained me to cut into the papers, but well, I had an assignment due

so it couldn't be avoided.  I came up with this sweet altered

canvas that I can hang up all throughout the year!

I layered cardstock with smaller mats of patterned paper from the collection.

To each piece's edge I distressed with a bit of walnut ink and then machine

stitched in assorted stitches just to keep things fun.

Fun trims added to the whimsical charm and I found myself singing 

"Easter Parade" by Bing Crosby...I mean, in a few shakes this thing could surely

be turned into a wild Easter bonnet of days gone by :)

I used various dies by mftstamps.com and Lifestyle Crafts, as 

well as acrylic birds from Basically Bare.

I.love.it.

Head on over to the Authentique Blog and take a closer look at 

all of those beautiful papers...you will fall in love!

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Tomorrow I'm back with the altered projects that I created for the

Engaged at Last Collection by Bella Blvd.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!