Colorful

Happy Sunday to You!

I am taking a break on this beautiful Sunday morning

from my "paper crafting" to join in with the girls from

"Our Beautiful World"

Today's word is "colorful".

You can read all about it HERE and join as well if you like.

I went with a few photo's from my picture files....

This is my granddaughter Kendall with

Ronald McDonald at a fundraiser 

(she is  9 today, it's her birthday)

my how time flies

I know it is "easy" to add flowers as colorful...

so I choose my brightest ones!!

The next picture is of an American Indian Pow Wow I went to this summer  in August.

The reservation is about 1 mile from my home.

It is a beautiful place, and they have Pow Wows twice a year,

In my 21 years of living in this home, I have never attended

and I have missed so much.  I will be going again this year for sure.

It was a very moving ceremony, good food, and lots of fun!!

I actually have 7 grandchildren that are part of the tribe.

Have a great Sunday!!

I will be back tomorrow with a post for Crafty Secrets...

see you then!!

My Funny Valentine

Happy Saturday to you!!!

I have a super fun card to share with you today!

I have been so busy working on lots of gorgeous/shabby chic Valentines

lately, that I thought it was time for a break for something entirely different!!

As soon as I saw this fun, fun challenge "Monster Mash" at Tuesday Throwdown

I couldn't wait to find time to play!!

Now this is what you call really digging in the old stash,

as this one eyed monster was bought on a pack of 97 cent stickers from

Walmart around Halloween time to make cards for the kiddos!

Well, obviously that didn't happen, 

but what better little guy for the challenge..right??

I had soooooooooo much fun putting this together...and it came together

in about 5 minutes, tops...

Oh yes, I love that!!

I have/had a card in mind for the hubby for Valentines Day,

a shaker card no less, but I just might have to cave in and give this one to him.

I know he would get a kick out of it, and as we have grown older, I noticed

the cards have changed for us from somewhat "mushy" to well, "FUNNY"

and always signed not only by him, but our "tribe" of pets...LOL!!!

A few of the things I used to create this (other then the monster of course)

is a new cloud die...I love this thing..look at the size of it...woowho!

It is new from Memory Box and called Cloud Bank...

you can purchase it HERE if interested...and using the code DIANE-10

can get 10% off your order (thought I might as well throw that in..lol)

I also used an adorable kite die from Impression Obsession....

available HERE and the same code above applies.

After Christmas I treated myself to quite a few new things

 and one of them was this wonderful "stitched" die by Lawn Fawn!!
Which I used for my "grass"!!

The sentiment is an oldie, but goodie

that has been around "for-eva"!!

Okay, hope you like it...would love to hear your thoughts!!

Entering in the following challenges:

Tuesday Throwdown .... Monster Mash
Lawnscaping Challenge ... Clean and Simple

You Are Loved

This is my post today on the Classy Cards 'n Such blog.

I would love to have you visit and leave me a comment!

Thanks Bunches!!
PS:  Don't forget you are always welcome to use my code
DIANE-10 to save 10% on your order!

Hello Classy Friends, Diane here with you today.

Do you love Valentines Day?

I do, don't ask me why, maybe it's all the chocolate,

you can never go wrong with chocolate.

Maybe it's the hearts, I love hearts, and they are so much more then just Valentines!

Weddings, birthdays, maybe just to tell someone you love them,

you name it, hearts are here to stay!!

I made a 5" square card base and covered it with some of the most gorgeous paper

from KaiserCraft 12 x 12 Key To My Heart paper pack.

Isn't it pretty?  I just can't stop looking at it!!

I cut the red heart and the white heart using Spellbinders Lace Hearts.

The underneath heart is a white heart doily from my own stash.

I stamped the sentiment using JustRite Hope and Love set.

That stamp set is full of 18 wonderful stamps!

The heart flourish you see is a brand new,

 just released die from Memory Box called Beloved Hearts.

I added a tiny Christmas Red Pearl to the bow part of the die cut.

The doves are Peace Doves, also by Memory Box.

The tiny heart you see the one dove carrying is 

an extra piece cut when you cut the Beloved Hearts.

To finish I added a few red sequins.

Did you know you can make your own sequins?

You can by using the Sequin Die by My Favorite Things.

I love that die and I use Iris Sampler Pack to make mine.

Entering the following challenges:
Scrapy Land ....Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday ....Anything Goes
ABC Challenge .... "A" is for Cupid (love, romance,Valentine, wedding)
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards .... Love Is In The Air
Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge .... With Love
Kitty B Designs .... Valentines/Love

Heart Felt

This is my post today at "Classy Cards 'n Such"

using the inspiration photo below for our challenge.
Don't forget, you can use the code DIANE-10
anytime to save 10% on your order.

Hello Classy friends, Diane here with you today

with my creation for our challenge this week

Shabby Chic Valentine.

Though my card has a heart, it could be used for just about

any occasion, thinking of you, just because, birthday, etc.

I don't know about you, but I just "heart" (pun intended) heart dies!!

The gorgeous background paper is from the Authentique Faith 6 x 6 paper pad.

I truly am thinking of ordering another pad of this paper, 

as it is full of the most lovely neutral papers I have seen.

Both the bow and the doily trim are cut from the same paper in the pad,

as is the background paper and bow.

I'm telling you, the designs are just beautiful in this pack!

The bow is so intricate and detailed.

It is a Sue Wilson Filigree 3D Itty Bitty Bow die.

A handy tool to remove all those little pieces from the die

when finished is the Spellbinders  Tool 'n One.

The beautiful heart was cut from Poison Ivy Curious Metallic paper,

then embossed with Crafts-Too Dots embossing folder.

The sentiment is from JustRite Hope and Love Vintage Labels Eight and Nine stamp set.

To finish, I added La Creme Pearls.

Thanks for stopping by...see you soon!
Entering the following challenges:
City Crafter .... Roses and Lace
Clear It Out .... Anything Goes/Stash "Roses"
Crafty Sentiments ....Include A Heart
Cuttlebug Mania .... I {Heart} You
Deep Ocean Challenge  .... Lace and Pearls

Valentine Hat Centerpiece

NOTE:  If you are looking for My Shabby Tea Room post
please go HERE

Happy February 2nd!!

Only two weeks until Valentine's Day!

Wow, can you believe it??

Time for chocolate~roses~love!

But wait, if you are like me, you would tell the hubby you want

paper~dies~stamps...lol....am I right (though chocolate is good, too)!!

Also February 2nd happens to be the first Monday of the month

which brings us to our "Crafty Secrets February linky party"!!

Our theme for the Design Team this month is

"Love Is In The Air" A Valentines and Music theme!

The linky party is a place where you can see all the

Crafty Secrets Design Teams inspiration projects, all in one place!!

Also by clicking on our names, you will be taken to each designers blog

where they will have a tutorial for you about how they made their project!

I will have all the links at the bottom of my post...don't miss them...

and leave some "love", after all it is the month of "LOVE"!

So, that brings us to my project.

A Valentine hat centerpiece....just perfect for your table!

My tutorial is a bit of how I put it all together using my wonderful

Crafty Secret products and a few "treasured" things from my stash!!

   

First you will need to find a container to alter.

I used an empty Mortons salt cylinder, as the width fits the printed digital

Crafty Secrets paper perfectly!

I measured the height of my container, then trimmed off the excess.

Don't worry too much about the top part being perfectly "trim"

as we will be covering that up later anyhow!

Trace the top (or bottom, they are the same) of your container

on your Crafty Secrets digital paper.  cut out and set aside.
The paper I used is from Crafty Secrets Digital Vintage Valentine Kit.

Cover your container with Modge Podge, I am using Matte for mine.

Really cover it well, after all, with all the work you are putting into it,

you will want it to stick securely.  Once you are happy with the amount of

Modge Podge you have on, start gluing your paper on by pressing down

and working the paper around the cylinder, making sure to add extra

Modge Podge to the seams.....

you can kind of "feel" the glue grabbing onto the paper.

Set it aside to dry and we will work on the base of the "hat"

I found a plate about the size I wanted for my brim

and traced around it on my cardboard and Crafty Secrets Paper, 

then cut it out.

 glue your paper to the cardboard.

Set aside to let dry.

A little TIP:  It makes it faster if you trace and cut ALL your pieces,

then apply your  Modge Podge, it saves on having to clean your

brush in between each step!

It should look something like this by now.

Well, a couple of hours have passed, so I think we can move on.

The next thing I did is "ink" the edges of my brim.

I used TH Distress ink on mine...Frayed Burlap.

Before gluing the top to the brim (base) I decided to add my top trim

thinking it would be easier to do it before they were attached.

Now you can glue the top to the base and let the fun begin

decorating anyway you like!

I used Crafty Secrets Creative Scraps Love Mail for mine,

fussy cutting all the cute images I thought would work for the hat!

There you have it....hope you like it!

Now it’s your turn! Visit each of the design team blogs listed below.  Then create a NEW project of your choice featuring ANY Crafty Secrets product and link it up to the blog (http://heartwarmingvintage.blogspot.com/)no later than 11:59PT, Sunday, February 15th. You do not need to follow this month’s theme to play along. If you do not have any Crafty Secrets goodies, check the FREE DOWNLOADS located in the sidebar of the Crafty Secrets blog.  Be sure to link to the Crafty Secrets Blog in your post, and let us know what Crafty Secrets product you are using in your project. One lucky player will be randomly selected to win our fabulous Vintage Valentine Digital Kit.  To thank you for playing along, we've included one free digital stamp and paper to get  you started. Feel free to use these images, or any Crafty Secrets goodies in your creation! 

Here's the link to the Valentine Kit:  http://craftyvintagegirl.com/index.php/d-117-vintage-valentine-digital-kit.html

Here's a blurb about the kit:

Our Vintage Valentine Digital Kit contains everything you need to create fabulous Victorian, Retro, or Vintage Valentine Projects.  Loaded with 9 papers, 2 printable sheets of full color images, 2 sheets of printable shabby chic tags, ticket strips, cupcake liners and heart toppers, 2 styles of party invitations, and lovely frames.  

Kathy Clement, DT Leader 

Darlene Pavlick, Dar’s Crafty Creations    

Diane Hover, Nellie’s Nest  

Elizabeth Lincoln, Paper Past Times   

Ginny Nemchak, Polly’s Paper    

Gloria Stengel, Scraps of Life   

Melody Clement, Paper Melody’s   

Michele Kovack, Thoughts of a Cardmaking Scrapbooker   

Shantaie Fowler, Inking Pink    

 Sheila Rumney Design and Photography  

Guest designer: Vicki Chrisman 

Entering the following challenges:
Really Reasonable Ribbon .... Hearts and Ribbon
Craft -Dee Bowz .... Anything Goes With A Handmade Bow
Craftin' Desert Diva's ...Red~White~Pink linky party
Make My Monday .... Hearts and Flowers
Simon Says Monday Challenge .... "H" is for HEARTS

Be Mine

NOTE:  If you are looking for my
Crafty Secrets post, please go HERE

Happy  Monday Morning to you!!!

I am so excited it is February...

I love the month, it's full of hearts, love, chocolate

and best of all it gets us that much closer to SPRING!!

It also means it's a new challenge week at "The Shabby Tea Room"!

Our challenge theme for the next two weeks is

"I {Heart} You"

and using the inspiration photo below!!

We have a new to us sponsor this week

"My Artistic Adventures" by Heather Hudson!!

  Oh my goodness, such cute designs and fun papers!!!

I have to say when I printed out my paper from the gorgeous collection

of "Vintage Sweater Hearts Collection Paper Pack"

it was "love" at first print!!  Beautiful, beautiful colors!!

Then came the adorable little angel cherubs from

Victorian Vintage Valentine's Day Shabby Cherub Angel Collage Sheet

They are just the cutest little cherubs....

Each sheet has the cherubs in 3 sizes and in either shabby pink or shabby aqua!!

I fussy cut the middle size in aqua for my card, and added glitter here and there!

I pulled out a doily heart and added a lattice heart on top...actually that heart

is a "leftover"  negative from another cut heart...

I just trimmed around it ... pretty cool isn't it??

The calender is kind of a stupid/funny thing I did!!

After looking everywhere for a tiny calender like I had in mind,

I gave up and cut it from my REAL one in my kitchen...

now why the heck didn't I just copy it, THEN cut it

instead of leaving a nice square hole in my Calender..lol!!

I added a glittery dove, pretty aqua bow and a Rose!!

Then I guess I was on a creative roll, as my 

WR Memory Keepers Gift Box Punch Board was staring me in the face

so I decided to make a matching gift box with a cute cherub tag!

Pop on over to "The Shabby Tea Room" blog and take a "peek"

at what the other "shabby girls" have to show you...

and while there, why not join in...you could win a "Fab" prize!!

Entering the following challenges:
The Ribbon Girls .... Romance
Cupcake Inspirations .... #296 cupcake inspired

Glitter and Sparkle .... Anything Goes
A Gem of A Challenge ... Lots of Layers
Word Art Wednesday .... Anything Goes
Paper Sweeties Inspiration Challenge

My Artistic Adventures .... Warms The Heart

My Valentine Wish

Happy first day of February (or Super Bowl Sunday if you prefer).

My plans for this day are to first watch "Kitten Bowl" on the Hallmark channel at noon!!

Then I will be in my creative room working away!

Have you noticed some "new" things on my blog??

I did some very much needed "Spring" cleaning.

First I went to a plain background, I just think it sets off my work better.

Then I attempted to make my own "header" in PicMonkey..

You will see the 2 side cards change out for various occasions!

I LOVE it...it is clean and simple and not too bad for my first attempt!

I also took my numerous, numerous awards and put them in a tab at the top.

I plan to list only about 6 weeks worth of those along the side of my blog

then add those to the Top "Accomplishments" page!

It was the only way I could think to do it, to keep my blog clean.

I still have most of January's to add, so I am a bit behind in that!!
The last thing I decided to do, was to go back
to the "large" format of the size of my
photos, verses xl.
I think I like it better!

I would LOVE to hear your feedback on all of the above!

Okay on to today's card that I did especially for the challenge at "Cardabilities"

using this sketch below!

I am really getting into sketches lately, on my "off" days,

This sketch was a beautiful one to work with!!

I made my card a bigger 5 1/2 x 5 1/2

with soft suede on very vanilla.

The next layer is from a gorgeous pack of  Kaisercraft "Key To My Heart"

collection I purchased from "Classy Cards 'n Such".

I spend forever picking "just the right" paper and then as my friend Dar says

"I always cover it up"...so VERY true...LOL.

This paper was no exception, 

you should see all the glorious design under the hearts..oh well, it happens!!

Then comes the fun part, the hearts themselves!!

Have you seen ALL the new heart dies this year??

They just make my "heart" "flutter" ......

I purchased about 7 new ones and have been just "itching" to use them.

So what did I do, I pulled out my faithful and beautiful OLD Spellbinders...lol

But, "lookie" how pretty they are, how could I not.....well I did add 2 new dies

whew....one being Memory Box Loveland Corner and the second

is MB Love Connection...I love, love this die!

The graphic and sentiment are both from Graphic 45 Sweet Sentiments collection.

The bigger hearts, one is cut on a corrugated paper 

(though my Big Shot rather smooched it down when cutting..lol)

and the smaller heart is cut from the same gorgeous Kaisercraft paper pack!
My finishing "act" is a small bit of vintage
jewelry.  This piece was an earring.
I just snipped the screw on back off
and glued it on.  I hit the garage sales
in the summers looking for things like this
to use on my creations!!

The inside.

I am entering this beauty into the following challenges:

Cardabilities .... Sketch #116

Inkspirational .... #75 Rose Colors

My Sherri Crafts .... #149 Valentine's Day
Fun with Shapes .... Valentine
Simon Says Challenge .... Anything Goes
The Paper Shelter .... Lots of Layers
Word Art Wednesday .... Anything Goes