Guest Designing for A Cut Above

Good morning friends~  My dear friend Vicki Robertson started a new challenge blog, A Cut Above, on July 1st and I couldn't be more inspired and excited to see a challenge that focuses on die cuts.   

If you know me at all, you know that I love working with die cuts!

I am honored to be joining her this month as a guest designer, and since August is known for the dog days of summer I thought a relaxing beach card would be perfect for this month as the theme is "Anything Goes".

I pulled out several of my favorite beachy, summertime sets to make this clean and simple card.

All of these dies come from my years of designing for Dies R Us and they're most likely all retired now, but their timeless design make them "keepers" in my book.

Amy Design Picket Fence

Marianne Design Beach Chair

Elizabeth Craft Design Sand Castle

Elizabeth Craft Design Octopus

Elizabeth Craft Design Seaweed

I know Vicki would be so appreciative if you visited her new challenge blog, A Cut Above, become a follower and support her by playing along.  She is giving away a gift card to A Cherry On Top to the winner, which will be randomly drawn from all the participants.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Mixed Media Monday ~ Altered Envelope

I belong to a group message board over at A Cherry On Top and recently there was a challenge to make an altered envelope or postcard.  This proved to be such a fun first time crafty experience for me!

I started with a business sized envelope that had a window opening in it.  I cut the envelope down on the short side and made a flap with a string closure and a very old brad.  I covered the entire envelope with scraps of scrapbook paper.  The flower images were fussy cut from a magazine.  Yes, I did all the fussy cutting!!  I think I'm getting better at it.  ;0)   Then I distressed and added stamping and stickers.

The floral "postage stamp" and "Sweet Blooms" banner were cut from the same magazine.  I had so much fun with this challenge!  I'm already working on another altered envelope. 

That's it from me today!  A quick post to hopefully start your week off with a smile!

I'll be adding this project to the following challenges:

Word Art Wednesday ~ Anything Goes

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ Anything Goes

Try It On Tuesday ~ Pretty Papers

Art Journal Journey ~ Come Fly With Me

Thanks for stopping by!

Peach Tea Anyone? ~ Mixed Media Monday ~

Hello friends! How are you bearing up with all the heat?  Here on the east coast, we've had more than our fair share of rain, however on the days that the sun has peeked through, it's been very hot and humid.  So, how about a nice, cold glass of peach tea?  It's been quite some time since I've shared a Mixed Media Monday post, so here I am with a new entry in my Create Happiness Art Journal.

This sweet page is filled with papers and ephemera from Prima Marketing Peach Tea collection.

The Peach Tea collection is filled with soft pastel colors and wonderful vintage style ephemera that I love!  The bird etching is a transparent rub-on.  I love how the patterns and colors show through, but the bird image is still crisp and visible.  

I did some random stamping using stamps from Spring Vintage of Winter Time Crafts, that I found on Amazon.

This page actually came together very quickly.

I hope you enjoyed today's quick post.  I find art journaling so relaxing.  I hope you'll be encouraged to start an art journal or planner of your own too!

All these products can be found at A Cherry On Top!

Prima Marketing Peach Tea Collection
Peach Tea 6x6 Paper
Peach Tea Ephemera
Rub-Ons
Art Journals & Planners

Stay cool!

Thanks for stopping by!

Flying By..... ~ Double D Challenge

Hello friends.  Double D Challenges is starting a new challenge today and the theme is "Things That Fly".

I thought it would be fun to pull out this Hot Air Balloon die from Sizzix.  I haven't used it in quite some time but found that it is still available at A Cherry On Top.  I love all the banners and flower dies that are included in the set.  So cute!

The file tab card base was cut using Elizabeth Craft Designs File Folder Set 2.  This is such a cool die set for creating card bases or fun ephemera bits for your crafting.  The largest die measures the same as an A2 sized card.  

I made an interesting discovery.  While I was looking for a fun paper to use, I came across this very old, long retired paper from My Minds Eye, "The Sky Is The Limit", that had balloons on it.  I discovered that the cloud die from the Hot Air Balloon set is the same exact shape as the clouds on the printed paper.  They coordinate perfectly!  It's fun to see how styles always come back around.

I hope you'll take the time to visit Double D Challenges and see more fun inspiration from my talented team mates.

Here's the mood board to help you get started.

Here's the prize that you could win when you play along:

Here's a list of products I used today:

Sizzix Hot Air Balloon

Elizabeth Craft Designs File Folder Set 2

Thanks for flying by!

Make Your Own Sunshine ~ Mixed Media Monday

Good morning friends and welcome back to another Mixed Media Monday.  Have you been keeping tucked in at home because of all the crazy weather patterns that we've all been experiencing here in the US?  I know for me, winters can be long and cold, so today's project is meant to bring some sunshine into your soul.

I found these wonderful K & Company "Meadow" die cuts from artist Susan Winget that jumped off the page over at A Cherry On Top.  The colors are so warm and vibrant and the images of flowers, butterflies, birds and ladybugs evoked thoughts of SPRING to me. 

These die cuts were the inspiration for this Mixed Media Monday entry in my Create Happiness Art Journal.

I started by covering a double page spread using older papers that I found in my stash from My Minds Eye "Skies The Limit" collection.  The rose and yellow paper matched the colors in the die cuts perfectly.  You would almost think they were part of the same collection, except that I've probably had this paper pack for several years.

I stamped some text and leaves in the background using stamps from Leaves & Film stamps set from Stamperia.  Using Modern Alphabet dies from Scrapbook.com, I cut the words out of brown cardstock.  The word "Sunshine" is cut from this warm, creamy yellow Glitter Paper from DCWV.  

I played around with the layout of the die cuts until I was happy with it, then layered the word "Sunshine" across the bottom of the two pages.

I added white gel pen details to some of the flower petals and called it complete.

This project is so cheerful and springy.  It makes my heart happy!  I hope it makes your heart smile too, with the hope of spring and new beginnings.

Here's a list of products I used:

K & Company Meadow Die Cuts
Stamperia Leaves & Film Stamps
Scrapbook.com Lower Case Modern Alphabet Dies
DCWV Glitter Paper Pack
Stamperia Create Happiness Journal
A Cherry On Top
Scrapbook.com

Thanks for stopping by!