Wednesday, August 4, 2010

H2H Tag Challenge

I just got back from the CKC Convention in Valley Forge when I saw the new Heart2Heart Challenge and its requirement to involve tags. I viewed this as a perfect opportunity to play with acrylics I saw and use up some scraps at the same time!


I love making cards from scraps! I found some wonderful sentiments on a mostly-used Emporium Level 1 Sticker set, backed them with scraps from Emporium B&T’s and mini-glue-dotted them onto a clear card base (Z1323).

I made my tag from a Twilight cardstock scrap, colored a White Daisy Clear Bloom (Z1300) with Buttercup ink (Z2110) and adhered an Emporium sticker in the center. I used the tail end of a Z1127 Chocolate Ribbon Round as my tag topper. I edged papers and stickers with Twilight Ink (Z2160)

Since this is a greeting card, I wanted to make sure that I could write a sentiment on the inside of the card, so I considered myself most fortunate to find a journaling blank among my leftover Emporium stickers. So I placed my sentiment on the lower portion of my Clear Card album and left the top open for my sticker. I positioned the journaling sticker to it could be seen above the sentiment. After adhering two layers of B&T’s on top of the cardstock tag, I cut the blank top off the “beautiful moments” sticker and adhered it to the tag. Next I adhered the flower with a glue dot, then the center of the flower with the Stickese sticker. Finally, I added my tag topper and adhered it with glue dots and now I have a most unusual card.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Two Challenges: Triple the Scraps & Heart2Heart Color Challenge

Matthew 6:26 is the inspiration for this scripture. Behold the birds of the air, for they neither snow nor do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? Our little birds may not “work”, but what is more joyful in the morning than to hear to hear uplifting bird-song as we begin our day? In the same way, what father does not revel in his own child’s laughter, or seek to “fix things” that make his child sad? Just as my own sons’ parenting skills are clear reflections of their father, so must our hearts and our actions be reflections of our heavenly Father. How blessed are we to have His protection, his agape love, and to be cherished as His children?


I struggled with what projects to take with me to work on at the Friday Night Crop at the CKC Convention in Valley Forge, PA. It hit me Thursday morning (we left Thursday evening) that this would be a WONDERFUL opportunity to catch up on ALL of my missed challenges! I was five behind on my Triple the Scraps scripture challenge and I wanted to do this week’s Close to My Heart Color Challenge.

So, I frantically looked for scriptures and art for three out of the five challenges, added a few last minute projects, and was confident that I would have plenty to do while making huge strides to finish overdue projects during our four-hour cropping window. I failed to factor one element into my best-laid plans: EXHAUSTION! After a grueling, 10,000-step, six-class day, my world took on Alice-in-Wonderland angles and shapes. My inability to cut a straight line with a ruler/trimmer magnified itself to the power 10. Scallops were lost and edges skewered. But how like our heavenly Father is it to accept us as we are, odd angles and all? Rather than redo the project, I decided to let the imperfections remain because we are flawed creatures who can rest in our Father’s perfections.

“You should have seen her!” my roommate Melissa shared with our two other cropping partners – Tina and Erica. “By 10:00 she was nodding off at the table with pop dots in her hand.” The next day, after another five classes and almost 6,000 steps, I added the final touch to the project -- “stitching” – while sitting in my minivan waiting for my three traveling companions to finish their last class. I used three-general stamping on my little birds and created my scallops with an EK Success corner rounder.

I used the following products to complete this project.

 Vineyard Berry cardstock (1248)

 Vineyard Berry Exclusive Ink (Z2257)

 Blush Cardstock (Z2257)

 Crème Brulee cardstock (X5754)

 Black Exclusive Inks (Z2305)

 Classic Cap Alphabet stamp set (D1110)

 Love Birds stamp set (C1396)