Photo Inspiration at Live & Love Crafts!

Happy September, sweet friends! I hope you're having a beautiful day. :o)

It's time for a fun new challenge at Live & Love Crafts! Sandy has created a gorgeous collage for photo inspiration, which you'll see just below. :o) This card will soon be off to encourage a dear friend.

Photo Inspiration:

Isn't it dreamy? Maja Design's Vintage Summer Basics instantly came to my heart. I was inspired by the earthy color palette, abundance of trims, the sweet doilies in the shabby dream catcher, and the pop of pink from the flower.

The 1905 sheet serves as my base... the loveliest wood paper I've ever owned. Atop it is 1910, which I love for its sweet design and precious pops of pink. The butterflies are fussy cut from Coffee in the Arbor and layered. "Bloom where you're planted" is from My Craft Spot's Tiny Tags 2, which is heat-embossed in gold.

For additional touches of gold, the Prima Resin Square Frame and Wild Orchid Crafts metal corner are heat-embossed with Shabby White Frantage. Tucked within my WOC flowers are Magnolia Heart Swirls for love and a doily for softness. The sweetheart blossoms are sprinkled with Glamour Dust. Everything sweet must sparkle. ♥︎

Oh how I adore the dangling trims from the dream catcher! To reflect that, I layered five of my favorite LLC trims. :o) Shabby seam binding flutters alongside my floral arrangement, which leads to Rhinestone Lace (such a soft pink!), Shabby Rose Organza, Marguerite lace, and Juliette lace. I hope it brings a smile to my treasured friend's heart. ♥︎

I hope you'll play along with us this month! I'd love to see your take on the pretty collage. :o) Be sure to check out the creations from my talented teamies. Thank you for visiting and I wish you a beautiful day. :o)

Lovely challenges entered:

 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes (Optional: CYOC! I used A2/Encouragement/Gold)

 *Crafting from the Heart~ Anything Goes

 *Creative Corner~ Flower Power

 *DL.Art Thankful Thursday~ September Linky Party (Anything Goes)

 *Frilly and Funkie~ A Touch of Gold (Gold-embossed sentiment and Frantage on resin frame and metal corner)

 *Lil Patch of Crafty Friends~ Anything Goes

 *Simon Wednesday Challenge~ Anything Goes

Maja Design � Vintage Summer Basics - 1910	Maja Design � Vintage Summer Basics - 1905	Maja Design - Coffee in the Arbour 6x6 Paper Stack	Rhinestones Lace (12mm)	Shabby Rose Organza Trim (35mm)
Lace "Marguerite" (35mm)	Lace Juliette (35mm)	LLC Shabby Seam Binding	Pearl Hearts	WOC Wild Roses, 30mm
WOC Apple Blossoms	WOC Sweetheart Blossoms	WOC Lilies	WOC Tulips	Decoration Berries
Prima Shabby Chic Treasures - Square Frames	Round Doilies 4.5"	Stampendous Fran-táge Embossing Enamels	DecoArt Glamour Dust	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads
Tim Holtz Paper Distresser Tool

InLinkz.com

A Beautiful Love

Hello, sweet friends! I hope you're having a blessed week. :o)

As you all know, the I Feel the Love Project has defined my crafty life over the past few years. Creating for charity has been my paper crafting purpose. On January 1st, sweet Madison announced its unexpected ending due to circumstances within her family. I honestly felt lost most of that week, as a huge part of my mission was gone.

Shortly thereafter, I was perusing prayer pages to find more kids to pray for. One in particular tugged on my heartstrings and I spent a considerable amount of time learning more about this child and her family. I'm honored to be making cards not only for the precious girl who is battling numerous health problems, but also for her siblings and parents. When one suffers, all who love her do as well.

My first card is for her parents, who I very quickly came to love. The 'me' in this sentiment is not me... rather, this is essentially for them to give each other. They share the most beautiful love and this is a celebration of it.

The stress and heartache they have endured since their daughter's birth often drive apart marriages. Thankfully, they have only grown closer and it is beyond inspiring. Love never fails and I believe with all of my heart that their unyielding connection is a big reason why their little girl is still here fighting. They certainly have no time, resources, or energy to spoil one another with a tiny handmade gift... so I'm doing it for them. :o)

"You & Me" is from My Craft Spot's Tiny Tags 2 stamp set, which I've nestled within a Prima resin heart. I adhered varying sizes of pearls inside, as love is ever bubbling up within them. To make it appear as a hanging heart, I placed two pretty roses atop it and Cheery Lynn Designs Mini Fanciful Flourishes (right and left). Fluttering nearby is my favorite Cheery Lynn butterfly from the Small Exotic Butterflies #1 set.

A soft and sweet bouquet adorns the entire corner, as their relationship continues to blossom despite dire circumstances. All are from Wild Orchid Crafts, with more Cheery Lynn vines beneath. The flowers are covered in Shimmer Spritz for a pretty sparkle. The side panel is embossed with the Cuttlebug Baby's Breath embossing folder, which is accented with pearls. The pearl trim and church window guipure lace are from The Ribbon Girl.

My card base is made with the Cheery Lynn Horizon Square Boutique Stacker Frames set. The floral paper is from Maja Design's Sofiero collection (retired), while the hearts and solid pink are from Maja's Coffee in the Arbour collection.

I hope with all of my heart that the sweet recipients enjoy it. Thank you for visiting and have a blessed day! :o)

Inspiring challenges entered:
 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes (Optional: Winnie the Pooh)
 *Cheery Lynn Designs~ Sweethearts (Add a heart)
 *Crafty Boots~ Butterflies
 *Creative Inspirations~ Pretty Pearls
 *Dies R Us~ Embossing Folders (Cuttlebug Baby's Breath)
 *DL.Art~ January Linky Party (Anything Goes)
 *Penny's Paper-Crafting~ Anything Goes
 *Simon Wednesday Challenge~ Have a Heart (Create for someone you love!)
 *SweetStamps~ Hearts
 *The Ribbon Girl~ Pink

Fancy Edges at My Craft Spot!

Happy Monday, my sweet friends! I hope you had a beautiful weekend! :o)

Today starts a new challenge at My Craft Spot! This week we're playing with fancy edges! I can't wait to see what you create. :o)

I had the girliest of girly cards in mind at the beginning, but then something tugged on my heartstrings. Inspired by the star metal die in Kimberly's new Fancy Edges 2 set, I made a starry superhero card for a sweet boy as part of this month's I Feel the Love Project collection.

In trying and uncertain times, I want one of the precious boys to know that he is a superhero for enduring. :o)

To say I was out of my crafty comfort zone is putting it mildly. ;) But that lovely star edge which Batman stands upon was just calling to me for this exact creation! I layered it so it would stand out despite the alternating black and yellow background. The stars shooting out from him are the cut-outs from the star border die, which are also layered.

My sentiment is from Tiny Tags 2, while the cute starry confetti stamped alongside it is from the new Build A Birthday set. I used two metal dies from the Lacy Banners for its base to make it appear as one of the splash bubble things in comics. :o)

Batman and the sunburst star base are cut files from Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons. I used my Silhouette software to create a card base out of the sunburst cut file, as a star shaped card seemed fitting for a superhero. :o) Everything is popped up with foam tape for lots of dimension. I hope the recipient enjoys it!

Thank you for flying on by! I wish you a sweet and sparkly day! :o)

Challenges entered:
 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes
 *Cupcake Inspirations~ For the Boys
 *DL.Art Thankful Thursday~ Masculine
 *Love to Create~ Anything Goes

Anything Goes at 7 Kids College Fund!

Happy Wednesday, my sweet friends! I hope you're having a blessed week! :o)

Today begins a new challenge at the 7 Kids Challenge Blog! The theme is Anything Goes, so share with us whatever you fancy. :o) Today's challenge is special, as it's our 100th! To celebrate, our generous store owner is giving away extra prizes! FOUR $25 gift certificates to the store will be awarded! One for the random winner and one for each of the Top 3 DT Picks! How amazing is that?! :o)

 This week I colored up an adorable Wild Rose Studio stamp: Bunny with Flowers! Note: The dark cardstock is a gorgeous plum-purple shade to match the DP, not the black that it may appear! (And I finally played with kraft cardstock! So pretty.)

Isn't he a little sweetheart? And I love how large the bouquet is. He fits perfectly in the largest die of the Spellbinders Standard Circles (Small) set. After coloring it with Copics, I added Star Dust to the purple flowers and Wink of Stella to the yellow. His tiny tail is covered in Polar White Flower Soft for extra fun. Per usual, I fussy-cut an extra copy of the stamp as a mask to sponge a sky backdrop. For this card I used Tim Holtz Broken China Distress Ink and a cloud template. My papers are lightly inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

The entire Wild Rose Studio line is pure whimsy and always a delight to create with! :o) The beautiful floral/fruity paper is from Do Craft's Tilly Daydream collection, to which I paired a neutral dot pattern from My Mind's Eye.

My card base was created with a cut file from the Silhouette Online Store. The floral doily beneath my image is a PPBN cut file, which I've centered with tiny flowers from an EK Success border punch. Each flower and the fluttering butterflies (from a Fiskars punch) are centered with pearls.

The sentiment is from My Craft Spot's Tiny Tags 2 stamp set, which is cut out with the coordinating Tiny Tags Metal Dies. Vanilla Bean Crinkle Ribbon is centered with a Wild Orchid Crafts scalloped pearl, which rests atop a Cheery Lynn Designs Mini Fanciful Flourish.

Hop on over to check out the marvelous creations by my teamies at the Challenge Blog and play along with us! Your work inspires us! :o) Have a beautiful day, everyone!

Products from 7 Kids College Fund Store:

Wild Rose Studio: Bunny With Flowers

Spellbinders: Standard Circles (Small)

Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Broken China

Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Walnut Stain

Copic Sketch Markers

Neenah Solar White Smooth Card Stock

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Wink of Stella Glitter Brush: Clear

Ranger Stickles: Star Dust

Flower Soft: Polar White

Challenges entered:

 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes

 *Crafting From the Heart~ Anything Goes

 *Created with Love~ Lots of Layers

 *Creative Fingers~ Anything Goes

 *Divas By Design~ Anything Goes

 *Dragonfly Dreams~ How Does Your Garden Grow?

 *Love to Scrap!~ Anything Goes

 *Papertake Weekly~ Ohhh So Cute

 *Stampin' for the Weekend~ Photo Inspiration

 *Through the Craft Room Door~ Anything Goes

Stenciled Encouragement Tag Set

Hello, my crafty friends! I hope you've had a beautiful week! I'm posting this stenciled encouragement tag set on the My Craft Spot blog today and am sharing it here, too! :o)

Stenciling tags is a nice way to dabble into the world of stenciling/inking fun, which was one of my goals with this project. The first two were created a few weeks ago, which you've already seen (HERE and HERE)... but I wanted to show them as a set! :o) I'm so excited to now have this gift complete, as I saved the third one to make during this Inking Technique week at My Craft Spot!

This set is part of my contribution to this month's I Feel the Love Project, where we are creating for a precious baby undergoing chemotherapy and her parents. This is for Violet's parents as a reminder that they are dearly loved and not fighting alone.

New today is the jewel-toned sunset version, brought to life by several of Kimberly's fantastic goodies. :o)

Each tag features one of the sweet butterflies from the Jar Full of Flowers stamp set, with its flourishing trail coming from Tiny Tags 2. (I love the gorgeous mini flourishes on that stamp set!) The background was created with a Honey Comb Memory Box stencil and three shades of distress ink: Dusty Concord, Victorian Velvet, and Dried Marigold. The tag base is a Marianne Design die.

This variation showcases one of Kimberly's newest metal dies, the stunning Flowers- Rolled Roses. I let them fall open in slightly different measurements for an assortment. The greenery was made with a Memory Box Small Olive Branch metal die. My sentiment is from Kimberly's Simply Sentiments stamp set, as is the warm-toned sunset tag. The middle tag's sentiment is from Tiny Tags 2. I used My Craft Spot crinkle ribbon for each, in the lovely shades of Snow White, Aqua Mist, and Deep Purple.

The papers are from Wild Rose Studio's Peach Blossom collection. The butterflies and flowers on each tag are covered with sheer shimmer from a Wink of Stella Glitter Brush marker, which is tough to capture on camera... but so pretty in person. :o)

I hope Violet's parents continue to grow in faith and trust in Him during this unexpected trial... He is far greater than every disease and will deliver this sweet baby. :o)

Thank you for visiting and I wish you a blessed and sparkly day! :o)

Challenges entered:

 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes (Optional: Create Your Own)

 *Charisma Cardz~ May Flowers

 *Crafting From the Heart~ Anything Goes

 *Dies R Us~ May Flowers (Tag base, greenery, and flowers are metal dies)

 *Dragonfly Dreams~ How Does Your Garden Grow

 *Fab 'n' Funky~ Photo Inspiration (Colors and flowers)

 *Simon Wednesday Challenge~ Die Crazy (Tag base, greenery, flowers)

 *Through the Craft Room Door~ Anything Goes

 *Through the Purple Haze~ Anything Goes

 *Word Art Wednesday~ Encouraging/Uplifting Sentiment

Anything Goes at 7 Kids College Fund!

Happy Wednesday, my dear friends! I hope you're having a happy week! :o)

A new Anything Goes challenge begins today at the 7 Kids Challenge Blog! I hope you'll join in the fun, as your creativity inspires us! Be sure to use products (primarily the image) available at 7 Kids to be eligible to win a gift certificate to the store! :o)

Although the theme is Anything Goes for participants, the DT added a twist to our contributions: Flowers! I took the opportunity to make a tag featuring a few beautiful Memory Box goodies.

I am making a set of coordinating nature-themed encouragement tags, the first of which I posted a few weeks ago. I began by using the Memory Box Honey Comb stencil over a patterned paper from the Wild Rose Studio Peach Blossom collection. Previously I made a warm sunset background of oranges through the stencil. For this version, I used Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass to mimic the sky, Scattered Straw for a touch of sunshine, and created a grassy base. I didn't have a proper green for the bottom, so I combined the blue and yellow to make a light shade.

In my first tag, my scene was creating with a nature stamp. This time, I created a floral scene with three sets of Memory Box dies! I used the Small Olive Branch for my greenery and Adorable Posies and Fairy Flower Drops for my flowers. You may be surprised at the lack of rhinestones in the center of those three opened flowers... don't worry, I'm not sick! ;) I ran out of my stash of tiny sparkles... which is just so sad. They will be added before this gets mailed out, that's for sure. ;) 

Although difficult to capture with a camera, the flowers are covered in gorgeous sheer sparkle from a Wink of Stella Glitter Brush marker. The top of my tag is Sky Blue crinkle ribbon from My Craft Spot, centered with a Wild Orchid Crafts sweetheart blossom. My sweet sentiment is from My Craft Spot's Tiny Tags 2 stamp set and the butterfly is from the Jar Full of Flowers set.

Be sure to check out the marvelous creations of my teamies! Thank you for fluttering on by and I wish you a beautifully blessed day! :o)

Products from the 7 Kids College Fund Store:

Memory Box: Honey Comb Stencil

Memory Box: Adorable Posies

Memory Box: Fairy Flower Drops

Memory Box: Small Olive Branch

Wild Rose Studio: Peach Blossom Paper Pad

Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Scattered Straw

Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Tumbled Glass

Wink of Stella Glitter Brush: Clear

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Challenges entered:
 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes (Optional: Bling)
 *Crafting from the Heart~ Anything Goes
 *Crafty Catz~ Anything but Square
 *Creative Fingers~ Anything Goes 
 *Love to Create~ Say it with Flowers
 *Papertake Weekly~ Anything Goes
 *Through the Craft Room Door~ Anything Goes
 *Through the Purple Haze~ Anything but Square
 *Word Art Wednesday~ Encouraging/Uplifting Sentiment

Mother's Day/Spring at My Craft Spot!

Hello, my dear friends! I hope you had a blessed weekend. :o)

For this week's challenge at My Craft Spot, you have a choice! We are celebrating Mother's Day and Spring, so take your pick and join in the fun! :o)

For my mom's card this year, I'm honoring a sweet and special part of our relationship: our weekly Starbucks dates! :o)

We make a lot of goofy and fun memories over our special drinks! Regardless of how busy life gets, I make it a point never to miss one of these dates or turn down an invitation for a spontaneous one. Everything gets tossed aside so I can spend a beautiful hour or two with her. :o) What we order varies based upon season or mood, of course! For this I made her a Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino with a cut file from Lettering Delights' Love You a Latte set. :o)

I made the whipped cream with liquid applique, which was such fun! If you enlarge this close-up, you'll see that I covered it with glitter before heating it:

The sparkly whipped cream is covered with Tickled Pink sequins, which serve as pink sprinkles. (Shouldn't everything come with pink sprinkles?) I centered them with tiny pearls. To make her glass fancy, the rim is trimmed with pink rhinestones. The black pearls in the drink are the cookie crumbles. :o)

I was anxious to use the fun new Flowers- Rolled Roses metal dies again, which is trimmed in Star Dust and centers my Pink Bubblegum bow. The sentiment is from Tiny Tags 2, which is cut out with the coordinating Tiny Tags metal dies. The polka dot flower and sentiment papers are from Doodlebug's Hello Spring. 

My background paper is from Pebbles' Front Porch collection and I used my La-La Land Crafts Filigree Corner metal die to adorn the corners. Each is accented with graduating sizes of Recollections pearls. 

Be sure to flutter on over to My Craft Spot to see what my teamies have created to inspire you! I hope you'll play along with us this week! I look forward to seeing what you create. :o) Have a blessed day!

Challenges entered:

 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes (Optional: Bling)

 *Charisma Cardz~ Mother's Day

 *Craftin' Desert Divas~ Mother's Day

 *Crafting for all Seasons~ Lots of Layers

 *Crafting From the Heart~ Anything Goes

 *Crafty Ribbons~ Anything Goes with Ribbon

 *Creative Fingers~ Anything Goes

 *Cut It Up~ Mother's Day

 *Simon Says Stamp~ Anything Goes

 *The Pink Elephant~ Mother's Day