AHSC #116 - Do what makes you happy

This week over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, we have an awesome sketch to play with.  There is just so much potential with this sketch.

Remember that you can change out the image with anything you choose....our sketches are a starting point, and shows you placement. We encourage you to let your creative juices flow.

I decided to stay true to the sketch, but kept it pretty clean and simple.  I used the stamp set Wavy Blooms.  One of my favourite stamps.  The flower is coloured with ShinHan Alcohol Markers, Cherry Pink and Tender Pink.  The sentiment in stamped in Black Ink on a layer of Smoothie, Blossom paper, and White Daisy.

I hope you like my card, but continue on to Atlantic Hearts to see the fabulous creations from the design team.

What makes you happy? AHSC # 102

I'm still not sure how we managed to get to sketch #102 already, it just seems like yesterday that I was still in the planning phase of creating the sketch challenge and doodling sketches in my notebook.

Anyway, I changed up the sketch a little as I stamped my sentiment in the matted section of my card instead of directly on my base piece.  I am always second guessing myself, and might try a different sentiment that isn't quite so large and recreate this one again......but all I know is that I love to craft and teach others this passion of mine.....it is what makes me happy.

Here is this weeks sketch:

Here is my card:

I used the Blossom paper and coordinating colors to create this card. The flower and sentiment are from the Stamp Set Wavy Blooms (D1651) and were colored with ShinHan Touch Twin Alcohol Markers.  I used the Thick Twine in Glacier for my embellishment and stamped the sentiment in Black Ink.  To create the scallop border on the mat I used the scallop border punch and used 3D foam tape to pop the mat and the flower.

I hope you will head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and visit the creations from my Design Team.

AHSC #98 Dream Big

Recently at my very first Creative Camp I taught a few classes, and the first class I taught combined 2 techniques.  Applying ink using Painters Tape and Heat Embossing.  I decided to use the pieces from this class to make my card for this week's challenge.

Here is the sketch:

Here is my creation:

I used Seaside pattern paper, and Crystal Blue Cardstock, the ink colors are Slate, Glacier and Crystal Blue.  I heat embossed the butterfly in Silver Embossing Powder and stamped the sentiment in Black Ink.  The butterfly and sentiment are from the Stamp set Your Own Kind of Wonderful (D1627).

Now head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and see what our design team has created this week.

Lift me up with AHSC #97

Wow, we are almost at 100 sketches.....that is awesome.  It's been so much fun sharing my sketches and artwork with you all, and having so many use my sketches to be inspired to create artwork of their own.

Here is this week's sketch:

There were some design team members who created similar to what I had in mind, so I really took my sketch to another level and created this simply cute card.

I hope you are inspired by my artwork and the design team over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. Head over there now and see what our design team has been up to.

Happy Birthday Card from AHSC

I am always in need of brithday cards, how about you?  Everytime I blink it seems I need a birthday card.  Either the children are being invited to a kids party,family or friends are having birthdays, or my husband will ask for one for a co-worker.  It just seems like when I go looking for one, I'm all out. So my mission now is to try to create lots of quick and simple birthday cards to have as my go-to cards.

Here is this week's sketch:

I went digging through my scraps and pre-cut files to see what I could use up from my extras that I have colored and cut for other creations and put everything together.  This card is what I came up with.  

I hope you will now take a few minutes and head over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and see what our design team has created to inspire you.

Easter Wishes with AHSC

Over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge we have a fabulous sketch for you to be inspired by. If you aren't just sure in what direction to take this sketch our design team has numerous variations on it to inspire you further.

Here is this week's sketch:

Here is my creation:

I used the new paper collection Hopscotch found in the 1st Edition of Seasonal Expressions.  It just screams Springtime and Easter, don't you agree.  I used the images from the retired stamp Some Bunny and the sentiment is from the Seasonal Expressions catalog Hopping By (D1633) which I stamped in Indian Corn Blue. 

So I hope you will Hop on by the Sketch Challengea and check out all the fabulous creations from the Design Team.

Making kids Valentine's with AHSC

This week over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, we had a very basic simple sketch.  Hmm, easy right?  Wrong!  I had such trouble creating a card for this sketch.

I fiddled with stamping, and I tried sponging....nothing I was doing came out right....I just was not happy with my projects at all.  Then my 10 year old daughter came down to my craft room, and started snooping through my newest order and discovered my newest Stamp Set Love Ya Silly (B1470).  She asked if we could use that to make Valentine cards for her classroom.  So off we set.  She picked all the colors and did the stamping, and I assembled....so today's project is a combined effort between myself and my daughter. We hope you like our Silly Valentine's Day card.

So head on over to Atlantic Hearts and see what our Design Team has created to inspire you this week.

AHSC #90 Mother's Day Card

Wow, these past 2 weeks have really taken there toll on me.  I'm just completely exhausted, and was in need of some rest.  So I apologize for being extremely late in posting my creation for this week's sketch. However on top of creating for this weeks sketch, I also have created projects for 2 blog hops.

Here is this weeks sketch:

Here is my creation:

I started with a piece of patterned paper from the Brushed paper packet and Canary Cardstock.  The sentiment and flowers are from the stamp set Flowers for Mom (B1473) found in the 1st edition of Seasonal Expressions.  The mat for the sentiment is Pixie cardstock.  To achieve the look of the smaller flowers peeking out behind the large ones I stamped the larger flowers on some scrap paper, trimmed them out and layered the so that they look layered.  This is one way in which to do the masking technique. The flowers in the stamp set have 2 types of stamps, the outline and the filler.  The outline is stamped in black, and for the filler I used Pixie and Hollyhock ink.  The 3 flowers off to the side are in the same colors, however, the top one is stamped in 2nd generation Hollyhock.  The flower centers are stamped in Canary.  The mat and flowers are all popped using 3D foam tape.

I hope you will now hop on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and see the creative talents of our design team.

With Love for AHSC #89

This week I've started creating for Valentine's Day, and I wanted something that maybe had a bit of a masculine feel to it.  Something that isn't red, purple or pink.  I played around with some colors and really liked the combination. I hope you like my choices too.

Here is this week's sketch:

Here is my creation:

I decided to leave off the bow, as I didn't want to dress it up.  I used a 5 1/2" square card base, and layerd Kraft paper, and then patterned paper from from Pathfinding.  I cut my squares and tacked them down and created the background.  Then I stamped the flowers and fussy cut them out.  They are adhered using 3D Foam Tape.  The sentiment is also adhered with 3D Foam Tape.

I used Goldrush and Olive ink to create this card.  The flowers are stamped using both a detail and background stamp.  The detail is stamped regularly, and the background is stamped in second generation. The stamp set used is Someone Special (C1607) found in the Seasonal Expressions Catalog.

I hope you take the time to head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and check out all the fabulous creations from our Design Team.

Just a Little Note with AHSC #88

Wow, can you believe that today is the last day of 2014?  This past year has been a whirlwind of activity and we've had lots of amazing artwork created from the sketches found on Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.

So without further rambling on my part here is this week's sketch:

Here is my card:

I used embossed cardstock from a promotional paper package and small Black Flourishes to help me create this cute card.  The stamp set used A Little Note (A1171) that is found in the Seasonal Expressions 1.

I colored the image using the ShinHan Touch Twin Markers, blending colors together to create the mix hues.

I hope you will now head on over to the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and check out the fabulous creations from our amazing design team, and we also have a guest designer this week, the fabulous Lisa Stenz.

Last Christmas card using AHSC #87

Wow, it's Christmas Eve Day!  I hope everyone is ready for Christmas, and that you all will have a very Merry Christmas.

I will be celebrating with my family, which includes my husband, and 3 kids along with my parents, my sister and her boyfriend, and my inlaws and a family friend.  Total head count 13.

Tonight we have a seafood feast of lobster, scallops and mussels, while the children enjoy pizza.  Tomorrow's celebrations includes an amazing breakfast made by my hubby and then our Christmas dinner with all the fixings.  I'll be making the pies for dessert later today.

I wanted to share a photo of my family with you before I share my final Christmas card creation.

Here is the sketch for this week:

Here is my creation:

This is more of a fun card, I even added some liquid applique to make the trim of the hat puffy.  

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.  Please head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and share some love with our Design Team..they've worked really hard on this week's creations.

Let it Snow with AHSC #86

Well, I've been hearing that our forecast here in the Maritimes is lacking of snow for Christmas...so I thought this fun little card encouraging snow would fit the bill.

Here is the sketch:

I rotated the sketch for my card, and made it square measuring 5 3/4".  I didn't like the placement for the sentiment when I was putting the card together, so moved it to where I thought it suited.

I used the Snowhaven paper pack along with the coordinating cardstock.  Coloring the image with the ShinHan Touch Twin Alcohol Markers. The sentiment is a Hostess Stamp Set and I added some color to the wreath.  

Now I hope you will head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and see what our fabulous Design Team has created.

Merry Christmas with AHSC #84

First I want to apologize for being missing from the Sketch Challenge for the past couple of weeks.  I've got alot of catching up to do with pinning the artwork too.  My reason for being missing and just doing the bare minimum is due to the weather changes, it gives me horrible migraines, and I just wasn't able to function let alone craft.

Anyone, I'm starting to feel human again, and have managed to pull something together that I'm really happy with.

Here is this week's sketch:

Here is my creation:

I started with Whisper cardstock as my base, and used some Wonderland pattern(retired) as my base and doodled a border with a black journaling pen. The shape is cut from the Artiste cartridge and I cut it in White Daisy and Twilight(retired & my favorite color). I added a polar bear from the Polar Bear Holiday Stamp Set (C1557).  The sentiment is from the stamp set that comes in the Artfully Sent cartridge set.

I hope you will take a moment and head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and check out our Design Teams fabulous creations.

Merry Christmas with Atlantic Hearts #81

Wow, it's crazy to think that we are only 6 weeks away from Christmas Eve.  Yes, you read that right. There are 6 more weeks until Christmas.  Are you ready?

I have most of my cards made, but have yet to really start my Christmas shopping.  Do you have any Christmas traditions that you would love to share?

On Christmas Eve I have my inlaws over for Lobster and scallops and we let the kids open a present from us(which is usually their new jammies so that they can wear them).  Then Christmas morning we let the kids tear into their stockings and gifts from Santa....by the time they have done that and played with whatever Santa has given them, our family starts rolling in the door for Christmas breakfast and they enjoy watching the kids open the remaining gifts.

We are very fortunate to be able to give our children a good Christmas, but we also like to be able to help provide a better Christmas to a family less fortunate than us.  My husbands employers sponsor 4 families and help provide them with meals and gifts. Our children like to be able to also take toys and give them to the local toy drive.

I hope you will share some of your Christmas traditions with me.  Now for the sketch.....

My creation:

My creation today using a blue pattern from Snowhaven, I've added 2 red glitter gems, and some red shimmer trim.  The middle flag is a pattern found on one of the pattern papers, and the first strip is the zipstrip from that same sheet.  The Nutcracker is from Stamp Set Candyland (D1557). I used the ShinHan Touch Twin markers to color him. The sentiment is from the stamp set that comes with the Artfully Sent cartridge, and is stamped in Cranberry Ink.

I hope you will also head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and check out the fabulous creations from our Design Team.  Our Guest Designer this week is Sheri Bage Ballantyne, and she was busy and created not 1 but 3 pieces of artwork using this week's sketch. Please leave everyone a little love.

AHSC #80 using It's the Little Things once again......

I really like how this stamp set can create some fun flowers, all you have to do is layer them and stamp on top of each one and you have a totally different look.

Here is this week's sketch:

Here is my card:

I started with a White Daisy cardbase, and added a piece of Canary Cardstock.  Then I cut the arched piece in White Daisy and took the dotted stamp and inked it in Glacier and stamped all over this piece.  I took another piece of White Daisy Cardstock and stamped out some flowers using Pixie, Thistle, Canary and Glacier.  Then I stamped out some leaves directly on the White Daisy piece, and then some on my scrap piece to be cut out.  I cut out the flowers and the leaves and put them on the arch.  The sentiment is from the stamp set too, and I stamped that in Thistle.

I hope you have enjoyed this card, and will continue on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, where we have another guest designer with us, Laurel Seabrook.

The Little Things with AHSC #79

I had my creation finished a few days ago, but haven't had a chance to write up my blog post as my days and evenings have just gotten away from me.  Between craft markets and working evenings I've been working around the clock, and have realized there is just not enough hours in the day.

My husband is sweet and has realized how hard I've been working to keep things running smoothly and brought me home a dozen white roses, just because.  It really is the Little Things that can make your day.

Anyway, here is the sketch for this week:

Here is my creation:

I used November's SOTM  It's the Little Things and Seaside Paper along with Glacier, Crystal Blue, Thistle, Canary, Pixie, and Topiary Ink.

I hope you like my card, and I can't wait for you to see all the fabulous creations over on Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  Our guest designer this week is Amie McFarlin Kiger.

Home for the Holidays for AHSC #78

I simply love this month's SOTM, Home for the Holidays.  The polar bear stamp is just adorable, and I've used him to create other cards.  Today I used him for this weeks sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.

Here is the sketch:

Here is my creation using Snowhaven paper and October's SOTM.

Now I hope you will head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and visit our Design Team, this week we have another fabulous guest designer, Jen Patrick.  So stop on by and check out the amazing artwork we've worked hard to create for you.

O Holy Night featuring Snowhaven and AHSC #77

I changed my mind on what I wanted to use for this card about a dozen times give or take a few.  I finally decided to use Snowhaven Paper and O Holy Night stamp set (A1168).

I had cut a bunch of shapes to use and had filed them away in bags in my organizer and came across them; but decided that I could use them on this card.

Here is the sketch for this week:

I changed the shape of the card too, it's a square here, but I changed it to a A2 size.  I think I will try it again as a 6x6 later.  

Here is my card:

I used the scallop border punch to add to layers of scallops along the patterned strip, and the bow is made from paper.  I colored the bling with the ShinHan Alcohol Markers.  The sentiment is stamped in Glacier on White Daisy which is matted on Whipser.  I used 3D Foam Tape to pop it off the card, and made a framed border using a journaling pen.

I hope you will visit our Sketch Challenge and check out the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and Design Team.  Visit Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge

Thank You AHSC #75

Last week I was sort of missing in action....

A very good friend of mine lost her battle against cancer.  She was the most courageous, strongest woman I've ever had the privilege to know.  Last year she was given only 3 weeks to live, and we didn't think she would come out of the hospital....but she fought and had another year to make memories with her husband and 2 boys.

Her family asked me to make a few Thank You cards to give to those who helped them with the arrangements and for the nurses who have been with them for the past year.  I thought I would use some of Tammy's favorite colors and this week's sketch for these cards.

Here is the sketch:

Here are my cards:

I hope you will head over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and check out the creations from our Design Team, as well as our Guest Designer, Tina Jeselnik Sutton.

Sparkle and Shine meets AHSC #73

This week I have been trying to get caught up on all my computer projects, I've had some blog hops, and other projects on the go, and it's really hard to do so when your computer isn't working properly.  Well, we solved that problem and went out and bought a new computer.  We are getting the old one fixed(only a little over a year old, so not really old at all) and will have that as a back up.

Anyway, I've still a bit behind in my scheduled projects, as I'm writing this post and doing all my linking well after the time in which our sketch challenge goes live.....

Here is this weeks sketch:

Here is my card:

I used the Christmas themed paper from last year, Sparkle & Shine.  I really loved this paper.  I added the scallop border as I thought it needed a little more detail since it was such a very clean and simple design.  I think it still has that CAS aspect, just polished a bit.  The sentiment comes from the Perfect Fit - Holidays stamp set and is stamped in Juniper.

I hope you decide to play along with us this week, but before you get crafty, head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and visit all of our designers to get inspired.  This week our guest designer is Brandy Ortiz-Lees.