Heartfelt Creations- Tattered Blossoms

This is the third of three cards from the Heartfelt Creations card class that Brandy and I missed at the CK convention last April.  I think it is late enough in the year to require the "last" modifier.  Where has the time gone?  It seems as though I've had plenty to distract me with work, kids stuff and a prolific card making "season".  I am happy to say that the stash is smaller than when I started the year.  Keep it up and I might actually make a dent.




When I first looked at the card kit, this card was the least appealing to me. The picture in the kit did not do it justice. Also, the shaped flower pot without a structured rectangle to make it uniform- I was just suspicious. Truthfully, this card opens weirdly to me- down and out rather than up and out. However, the finished beauty of the flowers and other accents totally make up for it.








The flowers are the usual- Heartfelt Creations Tattered Blossoms which were pre-stamped/cut for the class. I applied some Peacock Feathers Distress Ink with a Fantastik. After shaping the flowers and layering them, I used the provided Glass Shards Glitter with my Crystal Accents to create the beautiful dimensional embellishment. The centers are made using my Good Earth- Earth Elements. This really pops in person. Everything was edged in Vintage Photo Distress ink and placed as instructed. I'm telling you, if you attend a CK convention near you don't hesitate to sign up for a Heartfelt Creations class. Even if you don't attend, you'll enjoy the cards!

A Very Pretty Birthday Wish

One of my coworkers requested my help on a special occasion birthday card.  Oh boy, was I willing to help?!  I still had not played with my Heartfelt Creations Vintage Floret stamps and dies that I picked up as a part of my classes at the CK convention in April.  April doesn't seem that long ago, but it has been eight weeks.


I started by stamping on some shiny vellum using my Shaded Lilac Distress Ink.  If you haven't created flowers with Heartfelt Creations' dies, they have a great video collection over at their website.  This video provides the instructions for the technique I used to cut these flowers from the vellum.  Just a word of encouragement- this isn't a precise/exact science.  Look closely at those flowers, they weren't cut perfectly, but you never notice in the final finished product.

I decided that the shiny vellum was not quiet enough- this is a milestone birthday that we're celebrating after all.  To amp up the shine, I applied a light layer of Champagne Glimmer Glaze.  This product goes on a lot like a very thin nail polish and dries very rapidly.  I then shaped each petal following the instructions from this video and glued the layers together. The centers were made using my Viva Decor Ivory Pearl Pen. 

The medallion was cut using Cricut's Sophie cartridge [accent4].  I cut the shadow from a dark textured cardstock.  The swirl was cut from a very old piece of K & Company paper from the stash.  The leaves were cut from Cricut's Picturesque cartridge [Leaves] and edged in Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I also shaped the leaves.  I printed the sentiment out on a piece of cardstock.  After all that prep, the last step was the design.  I used this and then loosely interpreted the final card design.  I used a fair bit of purple in the design, but the pictures don't do it justice. 

The card was made from a chocolate brown cardstock so I needed to finish the inside to allow for additional sentiments.  I stamped one lonely little floret in the corner with the Shaded Lilac Distress Ink, finishing with a layer of Glimmer Glam and a small bit of glitter.  I think the card turned out lovely.  I'm sure having fun with all these flowers.  I'll have to move on to different tools soon enough.  Til then, enjoy!

I entered this card in Simon Says Stamp Challenge Anything Goes.   You have until next Wednesday, July 3rd to join the fun. 

Heartfelt Creations- Sympathy Card

Working my way through to caught up.  This is the second of three cards from the Heartfelt Creations card class that Brandy and I missed at the CK convention earlier this year. I will admit that of the three cards in the class kit, this was the one I was least impressed with the finished design.  There's a couple of things that my matchy, matchy mind struggle with- the fat and flat look of the swirly oval window in comparison to the very intricate stamped background, the white oval inset to the window is too small and you can see the mismatch peaking through, and finally the too-simple color palette that just doesn't create much interest. 

Surprising for me- I usually am just stunned by the design efforts of Heartfelt Creations.  Still, trying to make some lemonade with my lemons I thought that this would make a very smart, non-flashy sympathy card.  I, thankfully, am not currently in need of a sympathy card.  However, I think I salvaged something gift worthy from this card. 

Since we weren't in class, we missed out stamping a very intricate swirl onto the white oval.  I found this substitute in my Fiskars set and stamped using a purple teardrop Brilliance ink.  I added glitter to the pre-cut swirly window, the stamped swirl and the butterflies (which were pre-stamped/cut and provided in the kit).  The vellum butterflies are simply fabulous.  I stamped the sentiment in silver Brilliance ink.  Its a little too light, but again, I think it works with the mono-chromatic design.  The picture doesn't really capture the finished look. 

Ack- they can't all be stunning, right?!  This will go in the card stash and I hope to have it for some time without needing to offer my sympathies. 

Heartfelt Creations- Decorative Blossoms

Still catching up from April's CK Scrapbook convention.  Brandy and I signed up for a Heartfelt Creations card class that was after lunch.  Then we promptly made plans to have lunch with one of Brandy's coworkers.  What a lovely lunch we had onsite at the hotel restaurant!  We moseyed out to our class with a contented satisfaction.

We'd had a great weekend of classes, bff time and crafting.  The first warning bells rang as we walked by the classroom, door flung wide and spied the Heartfelt Creations teacher lecturing at the top of the class.  We chit chatted for another minute or so.  Then came the almost simultaneous- what classes are left??? questions from both Brandy and myself.  Then a- isn't that the card class? followed by the frantic rush to pull out class tickets and realize we'd missed our class!!  The folks at Heartfelt Creations were gracious enough to hand us the card kit as we settled in for our last class.  The great thing about Heartfelt Creations' classes is that they provide just about everything you could need.  I had to use my own ink and my own glue, but otherwise this kit has all the supplies needed. 

The cool features in this card include the rather unique corner die detail.  The background mat was cut by placing the corner die strategically such that the lacy embellishment was left in the patterned paper.  The lighter patterned paper (with a corner flower print) was then slipped under the lacy die cut and glued in place.  It's a very simple technique with an elegant result.  The flowers were pre-stamped and pre-cut for the class and I think are the Tattered Blossoms stamps and dies.  A very similar design can be found at the Heartfelt Creations website here which includes a product list and simple instructions.  I created this close up of the flower to highlight a new technique.  Small pieces of irregularly shaped acryllic, Glass Shards Glitter, was sprinkled over Crystal Accents to create an almost crystalline look to the flowers.  The result is very eye catching in person.  I had to up the contrast and lowlights in this picture to even get them to stand out.  As usual, their stuff really delivers.  I've left this card without a sentiment so that I might put it to whatever use I ultimately identify.

Heartfelt Creations Tattered Blossoms Stamps and Dies
Decorative Blossom Corner Die
Bella Rose Die
Timeless Amour Paper

Heartfelt Creations- Encouraging Card

Brandy has been at it again, my friends.  Don't you just love the richness of her creations?  This little gem was created for a coworker who is moving on to bigger and better things.

Each flower was first stamped onto colored papers.  Because Brandy wasn't feeling well (that darn back!) she chose to hand-cut each flower before shaping and layering the flowers to create the lifelike look.  I'm sure you, like those who gasped out loud when first viewing this lovely card, are wondering how she was able to get that sheen on the flowers.  Me too!  That is a thin layer of Glimmer Glaze applied to the finished flower.  The finished look is really stunning and the picture doesn't do it justice at all.  There's so much detail in this creation that it's very difficult for me to identify everything.  A small list of supplies is found below.  I believe that Brandy's inspiration is this beauty from the Heartfelt Creations website. 

Great job, Brandy.  This is one for the portfolio if I ever saw it.  The colors, the richness of the design, the tattered "vintageness"... wow.  This card has me making up words...

Heartfelt Creations Tattered Blossoms
Heartfelt Creations Vintage Floret
Heartfelt Creations Butterfly Medley 

Darling, Sweet and Delightful

This little 6 x 6 paper pad from MME has really caught my fancy.  I'm almost out of paper, but there's just something sweet and alluring about the patterns from The Sweetest Thing- Tangerine set.  The flowers cut with my Heartfelt Creations Posy dies are simply sublime.  The flowers were created by shaping them with my Heartfelt Creations mat and stylus and layered together.  That center portion is the very smallest flower that was shaped and then petals pressed into the center on each other.  Darlin'!


The ribbon is a length of cotton, ruffled ribbon that was originally a cream color.  I simply spritzed the ribbon with my Glimmer Mist in a pink color.  There is a fair bit of variation in the color, but that adds to the vintage feel of this card.  Finally, I cut the banners on the outside from a piece of pattered paper, curling the edges up to add dimension.  The cardstock base was embossed using my Scor-Pal.  It really makes this card look fun. 

On the inside I stamped using my Tilted Banners Sayings to stamp on a die cut piece of coordinating paper.  This is a card I'm pleased with how it turned out and the sentiment is broad enough for a lot of different uses.  I'm going to have to move on to a new paper pack soon...

I've entered this card into the Simon Says Stamp: Flower Power challenge.

Andie

That's How We Roll

I had mentioned in previous posts that Brandy and I recently attended the CK Scrapbook Convention in Mesa, AZ.  I wanted to send a card that expressed my gratitude and enjoyment of the weekend.  Inspired by our Heartfelt Creations classes, I whipped out my Posy dies and cut some of the scraps from the MME The Sweetest Thing- Tangerine paper pack I picked up at the convention.  The flower center is made from the smallest flower  and all flowers are shaped using the Heartfelt Creations stylus and mat.  I also decided to use my new Simon Says Stamp Tilted Banners stamp and coordinating dies for the sentiment.  This set was featured in my recent online card class, Patterned Play, and was designed by Kristina Werner.  The die cuts out the banner with score lines to fold and tilt the sentiment just right.  Here I decided to only adhere the ends of the sentiment to give some dimension and lift the banner off the page to go with the 3D flowers.

Inside I layered some strips of paper and stamped the posy from the Heartfelt Creations stamp set using my Ripe Persimmons Distress Ink.  All papers are edged with this same ink. 

I already sent this little gem to Brandy with a handwritten note inside.  Best friends are simply precious and I don't tell her enough.  Mark one in the "let her know" column.

I've entered this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Happy Mail challenge.   I think this totally qualifies.  Go ahead, make a card and join the fun!

Word Art Wednesday- Challenge #78 Anything Goes challenge.  

Andie

Word Art Wednesday- Challenge #76

 I thought I'd join the fun over at Word Art Wednesday again this week.  This is in part because I was playing around with my new Heartfelt Creations Delicate Asters stamps and dies.  This week's challenge (#76) featured the Bible verse for inspiration.  You can post anything- it doesn't have to use the Bible verse.  I just thought that it worked with my flowers and this paper.

The asters were first stamped onto a scrap of light blue non-textured cardstock using black archival ink.  After taping the die to a scrap piece of cardstock, I ran the die through my machine leaving the die taped to the scrap and creating a window for die placement.  Each flower was individually cut out by taping the cardstock window to my stamped flower and running through my die cut machine. The flowers were then shaped.  Using my Heartfelt Creations mat, I pressed the stylus into the backside of the flower petal (approximately the middle of the flower).  The flower ends up looking a little like a dead spider (the only kind of "good" spider to me since they totally creep me out!).  I then flipped the flower over and rolled my stylus around the base of the petals at the center of the flower.  Each flower was made with 2 large flowers, two middle sized flowers and two small flowers.  The flowers were placed on the card front using my Crystal Accents.  Glitter was applied to Crystal Accents at the centers and randomly on the petals of the flower.

The inside was decorated with a piece of coordinating patterned paper edged in the Ripe Persimmons and Vintage Photo Distress Inks, just like the sentiment.  One random little aster was glued to the corner and some more Crystal Accents and glitter applied. 








This was a pretty easy card to put together after I made the flowers (I made up a batch of them in various colors on Sunday).  It was pretty easy and fun.  Check out Word Art Wednesday and specifically their Challenge #76.  It's fun to play along.

Andie

2013 Heartfelt Creations Card Class- Delicate Asters

This class sold me on the whole Delicate Asters from Heartfelt creations.  These flowers didn't really WOW! on the website when they were first announced.  However, the card class at this year's CK Scrapbook Convention in Mesa, Arizona completely changed our minds.

Brandy and I took this class simply because we loved Heartfelt Creations product.  in the class pictures, the asters weren't really stunning.  I can tell you that the final product is even better than the pictures here.  The flowers are so delicate and the stamping on the flowers even adds dimension. 

 The background stamp and sentiment from the Delicate Asters collection was used.  Fantastiks were used to pick up ink from a stamp pad and brush onto the image to color in the stamped image and glitter added over the color. This card took very little time (we had the background image already stamped on the cardstock) and is basically finished.  I might add to the inside a bit of paper and some stamping when I decide where to use this card.  Until then, this goes in the done pile!

 One of the great aspects of the Heartfelt Creations products is their paper design.  The 12 x 12 papers are designed to work as 12 x 12 or to be cut down into 6 x 6 papers for use on cards.  This card is the perfect example- the background patterned paper is 1/4 of a 12 x 12 piece.  It is the perfect offset for these design details.  Glitter and ink applied with a Fantastik enhance the stamped images. 

This next card is another good example of the background paper and 1/4 of the 12 x 12 patterned paper to create the base.  I decided to wait to stamp the sentiment (which I will place in the upper right corner) until I knew what I wanted to use this card for.  The asters were stamped and then die cut and shaped before gluing together.  Some glitter on the patterned paper finishes this card to wait for it's sentiment.

Another great class from a great company whose designs are always stunning.  Brandy and I would both highly recommend this class to anyone attending a CK Scrapbook Convention this year.

Andie

2013 Heartfelt Creations Class- Heartfelt Layouts

 
Brandy and I typically do not take layout classes.  There's something in creating the exact same layout for your scrapbook as 40 never-before-met strangers.  Even though our lives don't overlap, there's something to think your pages are your own.  When we saw this lovely class, we decided to make an exception.

The layout uses the Vintage Floret paper for the background paper.  The layout is littered with Delicate Aster and Vintage Floret stamped die cuts. 

The asters were colored with a teal ink using a dauber.  I started with the dauber in the middle of the flower and "pulled" the dauber out to the edges of the aster repeating until all the petals are colored. 

The sentiments come from the Timeless Amour collection.  The LOVE sentiment was cut from the background stamp.  I think that is easy to do when you aren't paying for the stamp yourself. Still, this sentiment worked wonderfully on this layout.  The Decorative Blossom Corner die cut was then added to the layout.  Now, to identify those perfect pictures and get this layout in the book.

Andie

2013 Heartfelt Creations Class- Decorative 3-D Cards

It is that time of year again.  Brandy and I made our annual trek to the CK Scrapbook convention in Mesa, Az.  You may have read about our beginnings- Brandy and I became friends over scrapbooking.  This turned into a general love of papercrafting and this blog was born.

I thought I would try to get photos of the product of our classes posted.  We've talked before about our strategy for taking classes at the convention.  It bears mentioning, we're picky.  We feel like we've seen a lot of what's out there or can find a tutorial on the internet.  We tend to look at classes from the standpoint of value.  Heartfelt Creations provides the kind of value we're looking for- each class comes with a free $15.99 stamp set.

Our first lovely card utilizes acetate to create this beautiful window effect.  The window stamp comes with a full frame which we cut off to create the scroll worked window panes.  Simply bending the window at the frame and gluing down behind the die cut coordinating frame produces this lovely effect.  Some glue and glitter applied to the scenic stamped image behind the frame creates a little drama to draw interest.  The posy flowers were stamped and cut with the coordinating Posy dies.  You'll notice I've munched the sentiment stamp during class... proof I'm a more considered stamper and in the rushed atmosphere I blew it.  I'll have to do some kind of card repair 101 on this before using- I'm thinking patterned paper strip with a solid cardstock sentiment, maybe some ribbon.

This easel card came pre-cut.  We used glitter (usually Art Glitter's Autumn Leaves and Lichen) to embellish the pre-stamped, rose-entwined gate and the tiny little butterfly. We glued the pre-cut fence and gate to the front portion of the easel card.





Simply bending the gate once the glue dried created our 3-D effect on the card.   The paper small amount of paper on these cards is from the fabulous Timeless Amour paper collection.  The paper is beautiful enough to stand alone on the page.  The picture does not do it justice.

  The last card is relatively unfinished.  The style is more stunning in person.  The card base was pre-cut.  We simply glued the pre-cut Layered Elegant Swirl die cuts to the scalloped edged.  The flower design sold me on the Vintage Floret flower dies.  I have an ancient Sizzix Tag-a-long die cut machine.  This machine is limited to 2" widths.  However, I can make anything small work.  Most of this die set fits.
The flower was white embossed onto vellum and die cut.  We used a pink marker on the reverse side of the flower to color the edges of the flower before layering to create the focal point on this card. 

The leaves were glued to the opposite side of the card.  I see a very soft, white insert on this card.  I am going to keep the inside plain until I find the perfect use.

This card got a thumbs up from the hubby.  It's kinda rare for him to single out any one thing I create even though he is very positive and supportive. Must be an extra special design!

We had such a fun weekend at the convention.  This 3-D class started things off. Both Brandy and I just love the instruction, finished product and the gift of being to pick out a new stamp set.  We would both highly recommend any Heartfelt Creations class.

We concluded Friday night at the crop. I'm hoping to get the other class products photographed and blogged this week.  Having taken Friday off, this is going to be a busy week of catching up.  I'm going to give it a good 'ole college try.

Andie

A Little "Throw Down" Set of Cards

I recently posted some Tattered Blossom Heaven created by Brandy.  Brandy had scraplifted the card idea from Heartfelt Creations website and I commented on what I loved most about Brandy's interpretation.  One of the lovely ladies whose blog I follow "threw down" on my comments.  Jessica of Errant Scraps (go check her out, she's a prolific scrapbooker that constantly inspires me) wrote the following:

JessicaJanuary 28, 2013 at 11:08 AM

Beautiful cards! Andie, your last paragraph cracked me up. When are you going to post your interpretation of the card? huh? huh?

I've recently returned to work, so my personal productivity has taken a huge hit in the creative keister.  So my initial reaction was to start mealy mouthing about how well Brandy did, how I couldn't possibly live up to her fine example.  Then I considered Jessica's dedication to her craft.  She has two young boys and still finds time to regularly create and post about her scrapbook pages.  This is one of the things I love about following her blog.  She also regularly uses sketches and competes in online challenges.  I've not attained such status yet posting rarely in challenges, but I long to join her.  So, I took the challenge in all it's well meant cheekiness and tried to give it a go.  Here's my results:

I don't have a Grand Calibur.  This limits my ability to die cut Spellbinders dies and limits my embossing abilities.  As you can see, my version does not have the embossed background.









Additionally, my stash of Heartfelt Creations stamps in much smaller (a situation I plan to correct at the scrapbook convention in April).  As such, none of the stamps are from Heartfelt Creations.  When I went looking for what I was going to use, my first reaction was to head off to Michaels or Joanns for supplies (that "just right" color of pink or yellow, a perfect stamp set, etc.).  However, Jessica will also frequently comment on her use of the stash to meet challenges. 




I knuckled my inner shopping diva under with a strong right hook and stayed home,  Instead I went "shopping" in my Scrapbox.  Let's be honest, its like my own little LSS that doesn't charge for supplies.  O more accurately, charged for the supplies a while ago.


I found a EK Success stamp set with the large swirl which has solid tulip like flowers I've hidden beneath the flowers cut with Heartfelt Creations' Posy dies.  I am able to cut all by the two largest of these dies on my Sizzix Tag-a-long (very old tool indeed!).


I used some Good Earth Elements to create the center for each of the flowers.  The sentiments both come from a small stamp set for the month of May.  The little swirl comes from a Recollections stamp set that also has a solid flower I've hidden. 










All stamps were made using my Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  This created a slightly shabby look to some of the stamping, a contrast to the stunning crisp look on Brandy's cards.

All in all, I like my final creations.  I still think Brandy's result is more stunning, but that is the great thing about creating for yourself...  The people I give these cards away to may never have actually seen Brandy's creations so they can't compare.  Also, the fun is in the creating and I can say that I was challenged in more than one way by doing this project.  Thank you Jessica.  Keep on keeping me honest and out of my comfort zone.  I need the help!

Andie