Heartfelt Creations July Blog Hop

Hello and welcome here.  It's time for another Heartfelt Creations Alumni blog hop!!  If you've come from Alissa's Blog you're on the right track.  If not, you can find the Blog List at the bottom of my post.

By visiting all the stops and leaving a comment on each, 
you'll be entered to win a $25.00 gift certificate to the Heartfelt Creations store! 

Contest closes Monday July 31st,  midnight EST.
The winner will be announced Aug. 2nd on the HC Blog and Facebook page.
Good luck and have fun!

Card Size:  6" x 6"

I made some cards a while ago (Card 1, Card 2) using the Paper Ruffle technique found HERE and I wanted to give it a go with Heartfelt Creations Classic Rose Collection paper!  It looks just like material and it uses up scraps!  As a card maker I don't always make 6x6 cards so I tend to have strips of 12x12 paper left, this is a perfect way to use up those strips!!

I wanted to dress up the ruffles with little flowers so I used the Classic Rose stamp and die to make them.  I have a little tutorial below on how I altered them.  I used the Arianna Lace die to make my border, I have a photo below showing how I did that.

Look at those ruffles!  They look just like material.

I stamped the flowers with Versamark and embossed them with white embossing powder.  I then add some light pink ink for a touch of soft colour.  The flourishes I cut apart from the leaves and tucked in behind the flowers.

Bought flowers (on the right) have that nice little green foliage behind them.  I stamped and cut a small Classic Rose in green to imitate this (on the left).

On the left is the stamped and die cut Classic Rose.

On the right you can see I how I cut each petal to make leaves, basically just make the end pointed like a leaf.

I then inked and shaped them, and attached them behind my flowers!!

I used the Eyelet Oval die to cut out a design on the small inset oval.

On the back of the purple patterned paper I attached each die cut.  I found the center along each side first and attached one there...a little higher than the rest for visual interest. I then added the 2 corners. Finally I filled in the spaces with the other die cuts.  I chose not to do the bottom because it would be hidden by the ruffles.

Recipe:  HCDP1-270 Classic Rose Paper Collection, HCPC-3752 Classic Rose Cling Stamp, HCD1-7110 Classic Rose Die, HCD1-747 Arianna Lace Die, HDD1-776 Eyelet Oval Die, HCST1-401 Deluxe Flower Shaping Kit, small scrap from Delicate Asters Paper Collection, Spellbinders Floral Oval Die, Versamark, White Embossing Powder, CTMH Ink-Baby Pink & New England Ivy, Bazzill CS-purple, CTMH CS-White Daisy, Pearls, Rhinestones, Stickles-Crystal Ice & Lime Green, Foam Squares.

Now it's time to hop on over to Sarah's Blog!  Thanks for stopping by.

Deneen

Blog List:

Amarilys Doria

Vicki Dutcher 

Mary Faus 

Kathy Clement 

Alissa Wells 

Deneen Treble - You're Here

Sarah Miller 

Martine Smith 

Archana Joshi

Emily Niehaus

Cuttlebug Mania Roses Are Red Challenge

Hello and welcome here!  It's one week until Valentine's Day so the challenge over at Cuttlebug Mania this time is Roses Are Red...use lots of red.  And don't forget to use your Cuttlebug.

Challenge - Roses Are Red
(use lots of red on your project)

For a chance at winning an awesome prize, link your creation over at Cuttlebug Mania.

Challenge runs for 2 weeks.

Don't forget to let us know how you used your Cuttlebug

Card Size:  5.5" x 5.5"

It's almost Valentine's Day, but I thought I would switch up the sentiment so that I could use my card for a wedding.  It's been a while since I used dimensional flowers so it was fun creating this card. I added a piece of silver cardstock as a mat behind the red cardstock.

I like dimension on my cards but it's difficult to cut already small foam squares into teeny tiny foam squares.  So I started using craft foam!!  At first I bought the foam to use behind larger solid areas, but I saw a few people using it behind more intricate die cuts so I thought this would be a great chance to try it and show you the results.  I have a photo below of the craft foam.

Inside:

Even this close up it's hard to see that the craft foam is even there!

Here's the piece of foam I used, it doesn't matter if it's got a design on it (the local dollar store was clearing out of foam that had designs on it), I just make sure to cut it so that the design goes against the card front, not my die cut.  I have Tombow diamond dot adhesive to adhere the cardstock to the foam.

Recipe:  Bazzill CS-red & green, CTMH CS-White Daisy, Silver CS, Cheery Lynn Designs-Sophia's Heart & Mini Fanciful Flourish Left & Right, We R Memory Keepers EF-Quilted, Foam Squares, Roses, Altenew SS-Label Love, Verve SS-Wishing You, Versafine Ink-Onyx Black, Viva Decor Holo Iridescent Glitter, Pearls.

Cuttlebug Items Used:
Cheery Lynn Designs Sophia's Heart Die
Cheery Lynn Designs Mini Fanciful Flourish Left & Right Dies
We R Memory Keepers Quilted Embossing Folder

I hope you can join use for the challenge,
Deneen

How I Store My Spellbinders/Dies

Hello and welcome here!  I thought I would share how I store my Spellbinders, Memory Box etc. dies. 

I was able to get someone at work to cut me a few sheets of aluminum 8.5" x 22".  I found magnet sheets (with adhesive already on the back) at Walmart, 2 came in a pack and each is 8.5" x 11".  I initially came up with the idea to use an aluminum sheet when I wondered what I could use to attach the magnet sheets to and initally I thought of a cookie sheet.  Then the idea hit me that it was a shame to cut the magnet sheet down to fit the cookie sheet, where could I possibly find aluminum to cut to the size I wanted?  Bingo, we have a Metals Lab at work!

Then I wondered how I was going to carry them.  Hello Pinterest!  I saw a post on making a duct tape purse, so I just made a longer one to fit my sheets, and used a piece of tarp for the inside instead of cloth.  I also needed to add stronger handles because it's amazing how heavy magnet sheets can be.

I added a thin piece of paper over the magnet leaving a small border so that the paper wouldn't catch and rip and so that the dies would show up better, and I also write what it's called beside each set.

I organize my dies mainly by shape...all the circles are on one sheet, the elegant dies are on another, Memory Box are on a couple etc.

Hi, my name is Deneen...it all started when I wanted a way to cut out circles without using scissors, lol.

It's a little blurry, but in the photo below I have written on the paper what each one is.  I also write it on the back of each die...yep, you read right, each die.   It's the only way I can remember what they are so that I can write it down in my posts.

The sheets lean up against my hope chest, right beside my work space.

Then when I need a die, I just flip through them until I find the one I want.  I pull the sheet out and place it at the front of the pile, then when I'm done, I just stick the die back it in it's spot.  No containers or packages to fiddle with.

Here's my duct tape carrying case.

Here's what they look like inside the case.

Well, I hope you enjoyed seeing how I organize and store my dies!!

Deneen

Top Tip Tuesday Stitching Challenge

Hello and welcome here!  It's time for another Top Tip Tuesday Challenge and this time it's Stitching - Real or Faux!  I'm in charge of finding the Tips over at TTT so I don't have a card to share with you today but be sure to pop by the TTT blog to read some great sewing Tips I found and to see some great creations!

Challenge - Stitching - real or faux

Tips for Sewing

Sponsor

For a chance at the following prizes, be sure to link your creation to the Girly Challenge at Top Tip Tuesday, you can enter up to 3 times!! For a chance at an extra prize leave a tip on your blog and be sure to leave 'tip' after your name in Mr. Linky.

Don't forget the challenge runs for 2 weeks and closes at 1pm.

2 Cute Ink - 2 digital images of winner's choice

Deneen

Inspired Stamps New Releases & Stamping Tips

Hello and welcome here! 
It's time for some Inspired Stamps April New Releases!!  There are some great sets being released, and I am focusing on:

Solid Alphabet Upper Case  

and 

Solid Alphabet Lower Case.  

Be sure to check out the rest of the DT creations to see which new stamp sets they're using...their links are in my sidebar!

All new stamps will be in the Inspired Stamps online store by Friday afternoon!

Card Size: 4.25" x 5.5"

I started off making a fun card by alternating colours, and stamping the letters in a random way.  I made my own ribbon by using Spellbinders and then cutting some tails.  For embellishment I cut out little circles and stamped the star on it, I then used a black felt tip marker to add some stitching....which now that I see the photo, I want to add some stitching around the 'Happy Birthday' part too.

Inside:

Recipe:  Inspired Stamps-Solid Alphabet Uppercase & Solid Alphabet Lowercase, CTMH PP-Lucky, CTMH CS-White Daisy, Dutch Blue & Outdoor Denim, CTMH Ink-Dutch Blue, Smoothie, Pear & Creme Brulee, Spellbinders-Standard Circles Small, Big Scalloped Circles Lg. & Big Scalloped Circles Sm., Rhinestones, Foam Squares, Black Felt Pen.

Card Size: 4.25" x 5.5"

For my 2nd card, I thought of young girls...and the whole texting thing, hence the 'u' and 'r' for 'you are'.  They hit that pre-teen or teen age where it's wonderful to remind them just how truly special they are!  Or this could be made into a Birthday card as well.

Inside:

Recipe:  Inspired Stamps-Solid Alphabet Uppercase & Solid Alphabet Lowercase, CTMH PP-Daydream, CTMH CS-White Daisy, Bazzill CS-Mono Velvet, CTMH Ink-Black & Cotton Candy, Memory Box-Honey Blossom Frame, Copic RV00.

I love making bookmarks, they're perfect for those 'scraps' leftover from making cards.  I also used one of the other new releases called Labelmaker Verses.  I added Gold Stickles around the edges.

Bookmark Size:  1 7/8" x 5"

Recipe: Inspired Stamps-Solid Alphabet Upper Case, Solid Alphabet Lower Case & Labelmaker Verses, PP-BoBunny Weekend Market Tapestry, CTMH Ink-Black & Chocolate, Corner Rounder, Lace Ribbon, Gold Stickles.

Bookmark Size:  1 7/8" x 4.5"

Recipe: Inspired Stamps-Solid Alphabet Upper Case, Solid Alphabet Lower Case & Labelmaker Verses, PP-BoBunny Weekend Market Tapestry, CTMH Ink-Black & Chocolate, Corner Rounder, Brown Organza Ribbon, Gold Stickles.

The back of the bookmarks:

Inspired Stamps Used:
Solid Alphabet Uppercase

Solid Alphabet Lowercase

Labelmaker Verses

Inspired Stamps Blog  Link
Inspired Stamps  Store Link

TIPS when using alphabet stamps or solid images

• Antoinette produces high quality stamps, and so getting good ink coverage, and a great, crisp stamped image is not difficult.  Some stamps out there are not as high quality and no matter what you try, you will never achieve a great stamped image.  At this point it's live and learn, but before you throw them out you can try the following ideas to see if you can get a better stamped image.

 

• The bonus of clear acrylic stamps is that you can see your ink.  If it looks like it is 'beading' on the stamp, it's going to stamp like that.  You want to make sure you clean the stamp before you use it the first time.  Quite often there is a residue left over from the manufacturing process that you can't see.  To clean the stamp I use a bit of stamp cleaner and my stamp scrubber, even a sponge is good, it has a bit of texture there to give it a good cleaning.  Give it a good scrub, a little bit harder than you would if you were just cleaning ink off.

I used Inspired Stamps Solid Alphabet Uppercase & CTMH Black Ink.
The stamp on the left is inked up before cleaning it for the first time.

 

• Another problem may be your ink.  Sometimes the ink looks fine when you're stamping outlined images etc, but when you go to use it on a solid image or alphabet it doesn't cover the stamp nicely.  You may need to reink your stamp pad.  Even I tend to forget this and get frustrated when I stamp something and it's light or spotty...all because it looks fine on the stamp! With dark colours, or black ink you can see if the stamp is well covered before stamping (see photo above to see what your coverage should look like on a stamp), it's more difficult to notice using lighter colours, until you stamp your image and then you notice it didn't cover very well.

I used Inspired Stamps Solid Alphabet Upper Case & CTMH Outdoor Denim.

The 'M' on the left is before reinking my stamp pad...you can see how it's not as 'solid'.  I had a hard time trying to find a 'dry' ink pad because I tend to keep mine well inked:)  This was the best I could do.

 

• Again, some stamps are not as high quality and just won't stamp nice and crisp.  If you 'rough' up the surface of the stamp, the ink will now cling to the stamp.  Use something made from rubber...I cut a corner from my Cuttlebug tan embossing mat before I threw it out. Or I've used the gummy square that removes adhesive.  I've heard that an eraser works as well.  The stamp will look a little cloudy because of the rubber, but that's okay, just ink it up and stamp.  It returns to 'normal' after you clean off the ink.  I tend to re-rough it up for each use.

 

I used CTMH Outdoor Denim ink.
I don't keep stamps that frustrate me on hand, but this sort of shows the idea of what a stamp will look like when it doesn't hold the ink well, and I've had some stamps that have had worse coverage than that on the left, even after I cleaned it the first time.  The stamp on the right is after I 'roughed' it up with a piece of rubber.

• One last Tip that I can think of that may help your frustration when working with alphabet stamps or solid images, use a piece of foam (just like Antoinette places in her stamps) under your work while stamping.  If you stamp on a plastic table, or on an old wood desk, there are pits and grooves that are not noticeable to the eye, but they can affect how well your stamped image turns out.

I hope these Tips have been helpful!
Happy Stamping.

Enjoy,

Deneen